Two days after an outburst in which he grabbed an Independent reporter’s camera and demanded she stop filming, schools spokesman Chris Hoffman announced his resignation.
Hoffman submitted a letter of resignation Friday, according to city spokeswoman Elizabeth Benton.
“It was his own decision,” she said.
His departure comes on the heels of a confrontation with the Independent’s managing editor Melissa Bailey at the Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy.
When Bailey announced she’d be interviewing him on video in the hallway, he grabbed her Nikon D3100 camera and demanded she “turn the camera off!” Read the full account here, and watch the video above.
Hoffman apologized after the incident: “I apologize to Melissa Bailey for my conduct today. It was wrong and unprofessional, and I deeply regret my actions,” he said.
Hoffman, a former investigative reporter at the New Haven Register, joined the district in February. He is the spokesman for all schools in the public school district, including Clemente, which is being managed by an outside company as a turnaround school.
His resignation takes effect next month, according to school reform czar Garth Harries.
“Chris resigned effective the end of January. He did that with deep apologies and deep regrets. He understands that that kind of job is one in which the demands of behavior are high. A public job is a place of scrutiny, a place of pressure, and regardless of the circumstances, what happened didn’t represent what he needed to do and what the school district is trying to do with school reform.
“Chris is someone who came to us without education experience and worked hard to understand” and to help the public understand the city’s school reform drive, Harries continued.
“We understand the decision, and we’re sad to see him go.”
Harries said there has been no discussion as to whether to fill the job once Hoffman departs. The job carries a $78,793 salary.