DANBURY -- An educator with a key role in the career academies program resigned in June -- nine days after district officials received a complaint that he offered a teacher money to take a statistics course while posing as another individual, according to his personnel record.
Brent Dean, who was hired in 2022 as the school district's first director of academy partnerships, resigned from the position June 16, citing "family obligations" at the time.
He didn't respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Dean was hired to form partnerships with businesses and organizations as the school district launches an ambitious new high school career academy model.
School human resource officials received the complaint on June 7, his personnel file shows.
The complaint alleged Dean emailed a Danbury High School math teacher the day before, asking if they were interested in taking an online statistics course for money over the summer. The teacher, whose name was redacted from personnel records obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media Group, indicated they were interested, as they at the time assumed Dean either sought an instructor for a new course, or that another instructor was piloting a new course and wanted feedback, according to the complaint.
The teacher said that after speaking over the phone with him for a few minutes, it instead "became clear to me that he wanted me to complete a class posing as another individual for money. I asked if that was the case and he confirmed. I told him that I was not comfortable with that," the complaint stated. The complainant sought advice on how to proceed, according to the personnel file. The complaint did not say who would have paid the teacher.
On June 12, Danbury Public Schools Superintendent Kara Casimiro emailed Dean to inform him that a meeting was scheduled for June 14 to "discuss the status" of the complaint, which she said was investigated, according to personnel file. Two days later, Dean resigned, the records show.
Details regarding the findings of the investigation and what was said during the June 14 meeting were not included in the personnel file obtained by HCMG.
Casimiro declined to comment regarding the findings, saying district officials provided all documents "responsive" to HCMG's public records request.
"Brent was resigning for personal reasons. I wouldn't really want to comment further on it," Casimiro said.
She instead said district leaders are "thankful for the time that Brent spent with us. It was foundational. It led to extensive training. He was a wonderful partner." She said Dean forged relationships with numerous businesses and organizations during his tenure.
Dean helped to establish what Casimiro called "a lot of firsts in Danbury," including a new career fair for ninth-grade students, she said.
The superintendent said with Dean no longer in the director of academy partnerships role, Michael Seelig, the school district's chief officer of strategy and operations, is now "assuming the bulk" of the director position's responsibilities, "to make sure we maintain the partnerships."
Casimiro said given the school district's current budget constraints, officials "are in a hold" as far as hiring a successor candidate to fill the director role.
That might change after the next budget cycle.
"This is an area we're going to grow over time," Casimiro said.
The director of academy partnerships job description outlined the Danbury Public Schools' goal to transform its high school program "into a Wall-to-Wall Academy Model that focuses on multiple pathways that incorporate experiential learning opportunities for students in areas of interest, culminating in the opening of an additional satellite location for secondary education."
It said that the "successful candidate" will establish partnerships with businesses, community agencies and post-secondary schools "to develop the experiential learning opportunities that will drive this new Academy Model."
Dean, before coming to Danbury, was employed as an academy coach for Maplewood High School in the Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee. His hiring was greeted with high expectations and lofty praise.
"Mr. Dean's experience and proven track record in ensuring collaborating with local businesses and maintaining long-range partnerships made him the ideal candidate for this position," said former schools Superintendent Kevin Walston at the time. He described Dean as "a brilliant addition and asset" for the school system.
According to Danbury Public Schools payroll records, Dean received $103,750 for the 2023-24 school year.
"As I transition from my role, I am filled with excitement about the future of your school system, particularly with the implementation of the career academy model," Dean wrote in his resignation letter. "This innovative approach will undoubtedly provide your students with unparalleled opportunities to explore their interests, develop their talents, and prepare for their chosen career paths. I am confident that with your continued involvement, this initiative will flourish and positively impact the Danbury community."
NEA Danbury President Erin Daly said the teachers union was made aware of the situation, when the teacher on the receiving end of the alleged request brought it to her attention. Daly said she directed that teacher to bring the complaint to human resources.
"The whole intention was to make sure this would never happen again," Daly said. "I was very happy with how quickly they (Danbury school officials) proceeded with it."