A superior court judge ruled Wednesday that the superintendent of Connecticut’s largest public school system must vacate his job immediately.
Brigeport Superintendent Paul Vallas had been hoping he could remain on the job while the city appealed an earlier ruling by the same judge that found he does not qualify for the job.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and State Education Commissioner earlier Wednesday both said they think Vallas should be able to keep his job and that he is more than qualified with his 17 years of experience running the public school districts in Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans.
But Judge Barbara Bellis feels differently, citing state law that requires he complete an “educational leadership program.”
Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.
