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Former Fox Run libary aide accuses Bruce Morris of abusing power

May 22, 2015
–
Nancy Guenther Chapman
Laurie Hall
Laurie Hall, who said she has been a Norwalk taxpayer for 32 years, heads back to her seat after talking to the Board of Education in City Hall.

 

 

Correction: The original post misstated Ms. Hall’s end date as a Norwalk Public Schools employee. She was employed by Norwalk Public Schools through August 2014.

NORWALK, Conn. — Allegations made against Norwalk Public Schools Human Relations Officer Bruce Morris are being investigated by interim Superintendent of Schools James Connelly.

“I am concerned that a Board of Education employee, in a position of power at Central Office, is not doing his job and abusing his power,” Laurie Hall said to the Board of Education Tuesday. “I have contacted the employee, the head of Human Resources, and our former superintendent and been ignored by all three. I am coming to you because the buck stops here and I want this to be a matter of public record.”

Hall said Morris had falsely accused her, that she had proved him wrong, accused him of harassment and told him she was getting a lawyer. In return, he banned her from being on school property and she lost her employment in a YMCA aftercare program at Fox Run Elementary School, she said.

Morris did not reply to a Wednesday email looking for comment.

“The Board doesn’t comment on complaints against individual school employees,” Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons said in a Thursday email. “I had not heard of this complaint before Tuesday night, and neither had Jim Connelly.  Jim told me that he will investigate it.”

Hall is was formerly a library assistant at Fox Run. She was employed by the schools for 21 years, until August 2014, Hall said to the Board.

Morris banned her from school property on Oct. 21, she said. Two days later, NPS Chief Human Resources Officer Lee Palmer told her that if she showed up for a job interview she had scheduled at Marvin Elementary School she would be escorted from the building, she said. He did not give a reason but said Morris would be conducting an internal investigation and would send her the findings, she said.

“Mr. Morris promised several different dates when he would supply me with the report of the results of his internal investigation and failed to deliver,” Hall said to the Board. “I had to turn down a job doing literacy evaluations because it involved going into Norwalk schools and I still have no idea why I am banned.”

Morris hasn’t responded to her attorney, either, she said.

“I believe Mr. Morris is depriving me of my rights, has and is continuing to bully me, is not doing his job and is abusing his power. This ban is absurd, unsubstantiated   and arbitrary,” Hall said. “… By inference my character has been defamed. I am not letting this drop until this matter is resolved.”

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Comments

28 responses to “Former Fox Run libary aide accuses Bruce Morris of abusing power”

  1. Yankee Clipper

    Where is Bruce Morris? He never is in Central Office. What are we paying him for?

  2. Laurie Hall

    In order for your article to be correct, I need to make one correction. I was not laid off in the 2012 budget cuts. I was employed by the Norwalk Board of Education until August 2014. Otherwise, thank you for an accurate article.

    Editor’s note: This correction has been made in the story.

  3. NPS Parent

    […] What does he do exactly? another Joe Mann saga…..

    This post was edited to comply with our comment policy

  4. MarjorieM

    Laurie Hall banned from NORWALK Public schools after so many years of great service to kids? Ridiculous! She is a fantastic aide!

  5. Miguel Cruz

    No big surprise that the BOE ignored her.

  6. Eric Parrish

    What exactly are the duties/job description of the “Human Relations Officer”?

    I don’t understand how Bruce Morris can be a State Representative and hold a full-time job with the BOE…. I would think his duties in Hartford would keep him from simply being present in Norwalk.

    It was also rumored that both the previous superintendents (Susan Marks and Manny Rivera) questioned what specifically this role did… no surprise both are gone.

  7. dawn

    so what will be done about this. we want to know.

  8. Lisa Thomson

    Marj – Something we agree on but I am surprised as Laurie Hall was willling to take on the NPS establishment.

  9. dawn

    It amazes me in my innocence that there is a person on the public payroll and several administrations are unable to tell us what this man does.

    In anything but the public sector this would be unacceptable.

    I am accountable in my job. Daily. I have annual evaluations.

    Someone (Nancy on Norwalk perhaps) should FOI his employment records, qualifications, furthering education credits, job title and description. As well as his performance evaluations.

    Because I am sure all of this should be on the public record. He does work for us after all. doesn’t he?

    1. Mark Chapman

      @Dawn

      This is not the last word on this, but we addresses it with Manny Rivera last fall in a profile on Morris prior to the election:

      People have left comments on this site complaining that Morris is in Hartford during the legislative session and unavailable for his full-time job with Norwalk schools.

      Morris said many of the HR obligations occur after hours. If you call his Norwalk Public Schools office the call goes directly to his cell phone. “I am the one person, I don’t care what time of the day, night, weekend, I am that accessible,” he said. Plus, “You learn how to manage your day, manage your time,” he said.

      NoN addressed the situation with Norwlk Superintendent of Schools Manny Rivera.

      “In his role as Human Relations Director and an employee of Norwalk Public Schools, it’s my expectation that Mr. Morris is required to invest the time necessary to respond to any personnel, student or parent matters that may arise, and for which he is accountable as part of his job description,” Rivera wrote in an email. “… The Human Relations role is expected to dedicate 4/5ths time or a minimum of 32 hours per week, solely on those duties, and at times that may include nights and weekends.

      “Given the fluctuating needs and demands for his role and services and that there are no conflicts with his obligations to NPS, Bruce and I have agreed that a weekly log of activities, including time spent on NPS work on location at our schools, or outside of regular office hours will help address any questions that may arise,” Rivera wrote.

      (For a link to Mr. Morris’ job description, click on the above story link and scroll down)

  10. Hugo Ramirez

    Fire this man. He is robbing tax payers and use the money to create programs in South Norwalk. Fluff in the BOE budget. Do what is right and forget about the politicos who will yell and scream.

  11. Mike Lyons

    Mr. Cruz, the Board did not ignore Ms. Hall. When she stated her complaint I asked Mr. Connelly if he was familiar with it, he said no, but he said he would investigate it. Investigating a complaint is not ignoring it.

  12. Admo

    Bruce Morris is a joke!! We are paying him to do nothing!! This has gone on for years! Everyone is afraid if his job is eliminated he will sue.

  13. SaraSikes

    I hope NON requests to see the log-that would be interesting.

  14. srb

    I don’t know Bruce Morris and don’t have any skin in the game but this is an in-house issue that should be at least initially resolved through normal channels. Much of the comments here are simply piling on by people who have an anti-Morris agenda without any regard to the complaint. If NON wants to do an expose on Morris they should do the research and bring the issues to light, but if the issue is a claim by a disgruntled employee than whether Morris is in 24/7 or never is irrelevant and I seriously question whether it should be published by NON without some substantiation.

    1. Mark Chapman

      @SRB

      Mr. Morris is not only a public schools employee in a 4-day-a-week position making about $80,000 a year of taxpayer money, but he also is an elected state official representing Norwalk and collecting a taxpayer salary for that, too. His school work record has been questioned repeatedly, and the former superintendent said he was monitoring the situation. Mr. Morris’s work log that Mr. Rivera said he would keep should be, with names redacted for privacy, a public record and of concern to the taxpayers.

      As for the situation reported today, it apparently was an in-house problem for quite a while, but became part of the public record at the Board of Education meeting. We gave Mr. Morris an opportunity to respond — more than 24 hours — and addressed it with the BOE chairman. The allegation is serious and of importance to the taxpayers and voters of Norwalk. If Mr. Morris is handling the situation properly, and if he is doing the job he is contracted to do by the BoE, we will write that story and try to put to rest the constant criticisms. If not, the public should know.

  15. Concerned

    Yes, the public should definitely know. Seems Mr. Morris is ‘double dipping’ the taxpayers till, AND apparently has Houdini-like powers involving being at two jobs at the same time. $80,000 is no small amount of change – especially for a NPS employee whose attention, attendance and professionalism on the job is ALWAYS in question. Plus, based on Ms. Hall’s allegation, Morris’ inability to substantiate any reason for her dismissal – or ban from Norwalk Public schools’ property – seems to have put the NPS is the path a very strong defamation character law suit. If this does happen, don’t blame Ms. Hall, blame Mr. Morris and the dimwits that have been paying his $80,000 per year salary to cause nothing by trouble. And just imagine, this man is actually elected to serve in a public office. Norwalk, Norwalk WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU – quadruple FACEPALM.

  16. Carlos Rodriguez

    Disgraceful and no accountabilty.

    This is a role that should be taken seriously yet NPS gives Morris a pass every time. No one wants to touch the subject. We know exactly what will happen if you fire Morris.

    Which is the right thing to do. Stand up and stop being scared BOE.

  17. Kathleen Montgomery

    Questions: Does Bruce have an office in NPS and, if so, how many hours does he spend there? Where does he live? Thanks for trying to get the log…he has some explaining to do. I work for two universities from home spending much time on the computer. My hours are tracked electronically and people are warned, then fired if they are not putting in the hours expected to do the job. Since Bruce seems to do much of his work by phone, can NPS ask for the phone records to correspond with his log?

  18. Marie Avila

    Bruce Morris had a deal with former Supt. Corda that if he were elected, he’d be able to continue his “job” at full pay as long as he put in the required # of hours. SO – many of his “hours” are during times that school isn’t in session. Now of course, if there was an actual job to do, he wouldn’t be able to do it with nobody else working those hours. […]
    He also […] doesn’t have the required educational qualifications for this job, which (many) seem to think he’s (not) doing, and hardly anyone seems to even have a description for.
    I’m sincerely afraid that, in a city I lived in for 59 years and loved for many reasons, including the diversity and comfortable racial relations, this man has done nothing but divide people, and people are afraid to do anything about it for fear of being called racist.
    But folks, he is a sorry waste of your already high taxes.

    This post was edited to remove a racially offensive sentence and to remove assertions of “facts” that are personal conjecture.

  19. srb

    Marc, there are two issues you presented in your response; one, whether Morris is fulfilling his contractual obligation to the Norwalk school system and two, whether the disgruntled employee herein has a valid argument. in reference to the employee, I can’t imagine that Morris is permitted to say anything since I presume there is an appropriate legal forum for her to make her claims. Presently they are unsubstantiated allegations. The former issue would IMHO be more appropriate in a separate article. Morris isn’t double dipping if he can do two jobs in the same week. Whether the taxpayer is compensating him for each is again irrelevant since he has distinct non-overlapping responsibilities at each job. It may be worth it to use FOI and other material to investigate Morris’ school employment but the article and comments herein are largely gratuitous. FYI I don’t know Morris nor support Morris.

  20. Mrs. Ruby McPherson

    What is the problem, Bob Duff has another job as a real estate person, what did you think, with the previous superintendent Mr. Rivera he had another Business going on, I’m sure he had to take calls or somehow work it in at time while being at City Hall. You people really need to stop. We have how many family members working in City Hall or friends. Even when jobs posted who gets them. Look at parks and recreation department and some of them looks like its time for retirement. Norwalk is such a racist town, If you don’t think white then you wrong. Why are they trying to keep the Black squeezed in the middle and do nothing for the community but what they think is right. Task force for South Norwalk, Who’s on it? Now the Shelter want to build housing for homeless, spread it out and stop making my property value go down!!!!!!!

  21. Advocate

    This comment was disallowed for violating our comment policy about personal attacks, innuendo, slander, libel….

    The difference between the comment and the charges leveled vs. Mr. Morris? Ms. Hall made her complaint IN HER OWN NAME in an open public meeting on the record, discussing allegations she said she has tried to address with Mr. Morris and the school system in private. Mr. Morris was given an opportunity to respond before the story ran on this site.

  22. Lifelong Teacher

    Although I’m tempted, I will refrain from jumping on the anti Morris bandwagon because that’s not what this story is about.

    Ms. Hall does deserve an answer and a resolution to her situation. Lee Palmer is MIA, and Morris should do the job we pay him for. Certainly the past seven month period has been sufficient time for him to conduct an investigation.

  23. Anne Sullivan

    And what steps has Mr. Morris taken to address the claims of racial bias made by members of the BOE? I would think that would be part of his job…

  24. Marie Avila

    He isn’t going to address it. Talk about teflon! He knows nobody will touch him. I guess things have changed since I retired if you get his cell phone at all times – he used to have a secretary who was also a waste of taxpayer money – and you’d hear from her, in my capacity, once a year when he told her to call and ask why all your suspensions were minorities. That was his ONLY concern.

  25. Been there done that

    What’s he been doing? Falsely accusing decorated police officers of racial profiling. All for the sake of political convenience. Cut his no show school job & save the Norwalk taxpayers some money!

  26. Laurie Hall

    I feel I must reply to srb. I resent being referred to as a ‘disgruntled employee.’ At the time Mr. Morris was supposed to be conducting his investigation I was no longer an employee of the Norwalk School System. I tried to resolve the issue through normal channels but, as I stated in my speech to the Board of Education, I was ignored. This has been going on since October 2014. I believe that’s enough time for Mr. Morris to complete his investigation and issue a report.

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