Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam on Wednesday announced five new appointments to the Hartford Public Schools Board of Education.
“It’s a diverse group,” Arulampalam said at a press conference at Hartford City Hall. “It’s a team that I think brings a lot of different expertise to the table, a lot of expertise to bear, and one that I think will work really collaboratively with the city to help build a vision for our schools.”
The picks include Jennifer Hockenhull, finance director at the American Congenital Heart Association; Kory Mills, a manager in Hartford’s Office of the Chief Operating Officer; Ruth Reynolds Fortune, an attorney at Wiggin and Dana LLP; Steven Tatum, a former HPS English teacher and former board secretary for the Hartford Federation of Teachers; and Stephen S. Wilson, a manager at technology company Cyient.
The mayor said he picked a team including three candidates with “deep financial experience,” which he thinks is a key skill amid fiscal troubles at the district.
“We really wanted partners who can kind of parse through long-term fiscal solutions for the Board of Ed, both, you know, state solutions, and also looking through how we use those funds and whether there are ways we can work, we can partner with the school board in trying to create efficiency,” Arulampalam said.
The nominations are subject to approval by the Hartford City Council. Council President Shirley Surgeon told reporters the nominees would participate in an interview process and be voted on at the council’s May 28 meeting. They would join four other elected board members.
Arunan Arulampalam's father-in-law is Gregory B. Butler, who is a member of the Board of Trustees of Connecticut Public.
