A lawsuit was filed against Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim Monday over what the plaintiff calls an illegal act when he filled a vacancy on the Board of Education.

The lawsuit filed by board member Maria Pereira says Ganim illegally replaced former board chairman Dave Hennessey.

The decision to cancel the board's meeting Monday night came just hours after Pereira filed the lawsuit.

Av Harris, Ganim's spokesman, says the mayor had to step in because the board was deadlocked, and children and parents were stuck in the middle.

Ganim and Pereira are still clashing over another issue: whether to get rid of five police officers in schools. Pereira says she's tired of the mayor's interference.

"I thought it was outrageous that he flat-funded the Bridgeport Public Schools and left us with a $15 million deficit to deal with, and then he started meddling about what we should and shouldn't cut," Pereira says.