NORWICH – In response to a previous article regarding confusion surrounding the Norwich Board of Education's personnel committee, BOE President John Klockowski has addressed the perceived uncertainty of the situation.

“There are many organizations – be it other school districts, banks, pharmaceuticals – that all have personnel committees,” said Klockowski. “This is nothing new to Boards of Education.

“From my perspective, the headline of the article [Confusion persists around Norwich BOE personnel committee] really strikes a chord with me because Mr. O'Sullivan [Norwich City School District Superintendent Gerard O'Sullivan] has been cognizant of all personnel committee meetings – its intent and guidelines – right from the start.”

Personnel committee chair Jennifer Collins shared this sentiment, saying, “The Board of Education is the ultimate authority for approving hires, so I want to know who we're hiring, I want to know about them: where did they study, are they certified, if they aren't is the certification coming rather quickly?

“It's been difficult to work with the top and set something up so its a smooth process because frankly Mr. O'Sullivan has made it clear that he is not fond of this particular committee,” continued Collins.

O'Sullivan has maintained that the personnel committee in its original form was not legal as it violated some of the school's union contracts, the Taylor Law, and some school laws––and that he had not seen a version of the committee's scopes and objectives since that had addressed these legality issues.