[UPDATE: A video recording of Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting, which discussed an upcoming review of special education, is now available online. Click here to see.]
Nearly 100 parents filled a Staples High School library classroom last night, for the Board of Education’s community conversation on special education.
Speaking respectfully but passionately, they urged the Board to conduct a “thorough, objective, independent and transparent” review of the entire special ed. program — and then follow through with accountability.
All 7 Board members, and superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, took notes, and asked several clarifying questions. Board chair Lee Goldstein said their job last night was to listen to the public.
Board of Education members (from left) Stephen Shackelford, Jill Dillon, Andy Frankel, Neil Phillips, Dorie Hordon, Abby Tolan and chair Lee Goldstein, and superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice.
Assistant superintendent of pupil personnel services Michael Rizzo, who oversees special education, was there too. His acknowledgment that the last district survey of special education families took place in 2009 drew a strong reaction from several speakers.
A 2017 review by CES — an organization that provides services to the district — was not an independent review, but looked only at the administrative structure, parents said.
They also questioned how many of CES’ 9 recommendations had been followed up on.
Several parents offered names of groups that could conduct a comprehensive review, involving all stakeholders.
Speakers also requested “transparency” around issues like the number of out-of-district placements for special education students, the amount of money paid to settle lawsuits, and the number of non-disclosure agreements signed.
There was discussion too of how well Westport special ed. students perform on standardized tests compared with their peers in regular education classes, as well as against special ed. students in comparable school districts.
Several parents praised their children’s excellent experiences in Westport, particularly Stepping Stones Pre-School. Others noted difficulties, including PPTs (Planning and Placement Team meetings), access to programs and facilities, and a lack of responsiveness from administrators.
The final speaker, Rosie Jon, drew sustained applause when she said, “No family should feel forced to leave the district because their needs are not being met.
“The Board of Ed is capable of leading change. They can be a hand reaching out to every child.
“We need an independent consultant to look into whether students, families and staff feel safe physically and emotionally working together, free from retaliation.
“At the center of everything is the child. We should all look at each child and ask, ‘How can we help? How can we work together?’ You can choose the right consultant to run this review.”
Parents are correct, should know their rights. I took my son out of Westport schools over 40 years ago, Westport school system will never change regarding special education, special ed students and parents are still left in the dark.
The parents who spoke did so with great courage. The community conversation was recorded. Please watch and listen to it when it is posted to the Town website. Here is online petition requesting action by the Board of Education. Please consider signing a d circulating: https://c.org/WfTF6PjhCR
where can I watch it? I don’t see it on town of Westport website.
https://play.champds.com/westportschoolsct/event/280
A Superpower Mentors event is coming up next week at the Westport Public Library, Brooks Room, 7pm. Please join us on Tuesday, May 26th for an inspiring event with Jake Sussman, a former Westport Student, as he shares his story. It will be a great opportunity to come together and continue this important conversation. Please RSVP and let us know if you will be attending: westportseen@gmail.com
“Speakers also requested “transparency” around issues like the number of out-of-district placements for special education students, the amount of money paid to settle lawsuits, and the number of non-disclosure agreements signed.”
Westport tax payers should absolutely not want that information shared more than legally required, it only invites abuse.
It invites abuse? I would argue that these so called “public servants” are abusing their authority by choosing to spend taxpayer money on unjustified lawsuits as opposed to special education.
This unending cycle of lawsuits followed by settlements is extremely wasteful and often induces extreme stress upon families who are already dealing with a child who has special education needs. The only ones who win in this scenario are the lawyers.
There seems to be a lack of accountability in all directions in regard to Special Education today. This also is directed at parents and parenting. People truly need to be educated on so many aspects of Special Education. I think teachers in the field of Special Education need to be represented in all of this.
Nothing worse than a newly minted consultant trying to find new clients to spend more hard earned Westport tax dollars. Take your show to another town.
Having never attended a BOE meeting or community conversation before, I felt an overwhelming fundamental absence of decency in the meeting’s framework from the outset.
Sitting with fellow parents, many of whom had also suffered the indignity of having to ask the district to show our kids common decency and respect, the BOE chair, Lee Goldstein, started the meeting by telling special ed parents they weren’t to discuss anything personal or specific to their child while addressing the board. I mean, talk about gaslighting.
Yet the BOE didn’t shy away from placing a large camera in every parent’s face, telling them to stand up, identify themselves, and speak into the mic (bravo to the brave parents who shared stories, both with determination and trembling voices). Let it be known, the Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Services, Mike Rizzo, who oversees special education and district-wide psychological services, sat in the front row and refused to turn around once and face or make eye contact with the very parents he’s entrusted to support – even when they spoke directly to him. He showed them his back and acknowledged no one.
Personally, I sat directly behind him and was tasked by the BOE with standing, holding a mic, and looking down at the top of his head when speaking to him. Why did he even bother showing up? His placement in the front row appeared to be a calculated decision, as the rest of the BOE and administrators sat at a table facing the parents.
It’s my opinion that our BOE chairs and the district administration don’t seem to grasp the severity of the issue before them, or they’re completely indifferent. I’d go so far as to say, with the exception of a few new board members (Stephen Shackelford tried to put forth a solution before he was shut down by Lee Goldstein and Tom Scarice), the board failed to acknowledge the depth of the parents’ concern. When several special education parents stand before the BOE and ask it to stop the district’s continued retaliation against their families… and the board has no follow-up questions? Or, doesn’t feel the need to say, “Hey, what do you mean retaliation? What’s going on?” – you know you’re either spitting in the wind or asking for mercy from a coconspirator.
The parents put forth a solid case for why the district must hire an independent consultant to conduct a thorough special education program review.
When Lee Goldstein asked the parents what the BOE could do to gain parent trust, it felt as if everyone was talking around the giant elephant in the room, unable to discuss the THING most obvious to anyone paying attention. With the extremely limited parameters given at the outset of the meeting and the majority of parents slapped with NDAs by the district, the question of trust was almost laughable. How, indeed, does anyone address the pervasive and blatant lack of goodness in our district’s administration? I guess we start with asking two simple question of our BOE… why are you tolerating the administration’s abusive behavior against our kids? And, why are you spending our tax dollars to support the salaries of an administration that knowingly put our students at extreme risk of harm?
What am I referring to? Public records.
I have the redacted arrest record of the speech and language pathologist who passed out while in a locked room with a nonverbal student at GFS. I’m happy to share it with anyone who would like a copy; it’s public record. My email is nrmarks13@gmail.com.
John Bayer, Tom Scarice, and Mike Rizzo handled the incident for the district and, I believe, were aware of the SLP’s addiction and sobriety struggles while she was meeting with students. In fact, she was charged with disorderly conduct and faced other vehicular charges in the weeks and months prior to the incident at GFS. This is also public record.
I believe the SLP was repeatedly returned to our school system to work with non-verbal students (despite multiple stays at inpatient and outpatient facilities), as a courtesy to the former assistant superintendent, Anthony Buono. It appears that the SLP and Anthony Buono share a family relationship. I feel, based on the police report, she was purposely placed with non-verbal students, by the district administration, as a way of keeping her struggles quiet – and with zero concern for our most vulnerable students. One parent told me the SLP was moved from the upper schools to the lower school because the older students had picked up on her intoxication. The arrest record plainly lays out multiple statements that alone should be grounds for the BOE to fire the district administrators. And, quite honestly, the state should revoke their administrative licenses.
Given the severity of the documented complaints listed in the police report, which include staff reporting grave concern for student safety to the administration throughout the SLP’s time at GFS, and the SLP’s apparent relationship with the district assistant superintendent, I find it impossible to believe our superintendents were unaware of the continuous threat they placed our students in – daily. The former GFS principal, who was allowed to walk away from his position with much praise from the district (as was Anthony Buono), told me that, at the time of the incident, he was meeting with the superintendent weekly and in person, though he did not share what the meetings were about, and I was unaware of this particular incident at the time.
Here are the highlights that I gleaned from the police report:
*Teachers and staff issued formal complaints with the administration for months (possibly years?) regarding the SLP’s apparent intoxicated condition on campus. The report details that at one time the SLP had passed out mid-PPT meeting. Staff complained about her spending hours in her car, staying locked in her office, and smelling of alcohol on several occasions. Yet NOTHING was done to remove the SLP from the district, or, at the very least, remove her from one-to-one care of nonverbal students. I personally feel this speaks to the pervasive fear staff have of losing their jobs if they speak to the police or act against the superintendents.
*The report details that the SLP’s union rep says he was often tasked with driving the SLP home from the GFS campus.
*The report details that on the day of the incident, the district was alerted to the situation before any call for medical assistance was made, despite the finding of an unconscious staff member, locked in alone with a child who had strict instructions to never be left alone due to the ability to eat non-food items.
*The report indicates that John Bayer and the SLP’s union reps were called first. It’s unclear if the district called the union reps.
* The report indicates that after arriving at GFS, assistant superintendent of human resources John Bayer then called Westport police and stated he was at GFS to fire the SLP. He apparently wasn’t concerned or panicked about the unconscious staff member’s condition (or student). He was most likely well aware of the situation, given the months of complaints filed by staff; he may even have anticipated it, as did all the decision-makers at 110 Myrtle Ave who allowed the negligence to continue.
*At this point, it appears the district rep and the union reps were together at GFS waiting on the Westport police. Medical assistance had still not been called, and most importantly, NO ONE HAD CALLED THE STUDENT’S PARENTS.
*Eventually, the SLP was revived and spoke candidly of her addiction struggles to the detective. During this time, the student’s parents were still not called. The report indicates the student was taken back to class, despite the report indicating the student was left unsupervised in a locked room for about an hour and was found with shredded paper all around them, and guidance never to allow the student to go unsupervised. The report indicates the district never called for or provided a proper medical evaluation of the student, even when it was provided for the SLT. The report mentions the incident occurred around 12:30, yet the students’ parents weren’t alerted until 3-4 hours later (after school).
*The report indicates the SLP’s union rep asked police if he could simply take her home instead of her going to the hospital, as he had done this before. The detectives told the rep that if the SLP did not go to the hospital, she would be taken to the police station. The SLP then agreed to go to the hospital, where she refused a blood alcohol test. And, despite no one at the school being aware of what the SLP had ingested while alone with the nonverbal student, no one called for medical assistance for the student – despite the strong possibility they could have ingested a controlled substance or intoxicant.
*The report indicates that when the student’s parents were finally alerted to the situation, they immediately took him to the ER, where they waited 6 hours to be seen, and eventually had to take their child back home for the night without having seen a physician that day. The parents reported the child threw up for days following the incident, and that the student did not act like themself for several days following the incident. The parents reported to police that they were able to see the family’s pediatrician the following day.
This should incident should raise serious concerns from every parent and resident in the district. It is profoundly alarming. The district purposefully hid the details of this appalling incident from Westport residents. The district says they stay silent out of respect for students’ privacy when concerns arise. Clearly, based on this report, they don’t respect students, families, or taxpayers at a fundamental level. They remain silent to subvert our ability to fully understand, respond, and seek justice.
Last night’s community discussion, which was supposed to create an environment of sharing and collaboration, came with rules and a pervasive unease. This GFS incident, and I’m sure many more that are protected by NDAs, are the very reason an independent consultant is warranted for a thorough special education program review. Anything less is a slap in the face to all the families forced to endure the indignity of having John Bayer (and Tom Scarice and Mike Rizzo) put a mic in their faces while feigning concern over the very actions they themselves perpetrate against our students. A trauma specialist might describe this dark behavior as controlled disclosure or emotional suppression. Narrative control. Tone policing. Performative listening?
I heard many parents graciously thanking the board for their time last night. It’s quite literally their job “to create a safe, supportive environment where every student can thrive”. Westport deserves an explanation for the GFS incident, which reeks of nepotism and child endangerment at the highest level in our district. We want accountability; that is how you build trust in a community.
I am in utter shock right now. No words. I have so many questions.
I feel compelled to share a positive anecdote.
While I acknowledge every family’s experience is different, we are grateful ours has been a positive one.
Our child will graduate Stepping Stones Preschool this year. It is not hyperbolic to say the incredible staff and teachers at SSP have changed the trajectory of our child’s life. I have the utmost respect and admiration for everyone there who everyday serve in all-too-often thankless roles with compassion, kindness, competence, and patience.
The mark of a good early childhood program is not just the child’s the development, but the parents’. I am an infinitely better parent as a result of my interactions with the SSP team over these years (still with infinite parentals flaws, still, of course).
Most things are not perfect and progress is always worth pursuing. I support constructive efforts to continue to improve our fantastic – albeit inherently imperfect – school system for all.
But, it’d be a shame if those efforts left our wonderful educators feeling disillusioned or underappreciated.
Last night, more than 100 parents came together to share deeply personal experiences about special education in Westport. The message was consistent: families feel unheard, exhausted, and trapped in a system that too often denies, defers, and delays support for children who need it most.
Tonight’s Board of Education meeting only reinforced those same emotions many parents describe feeling during PPT meetings — predetermined outcomes, scripted responses, and little evidence that parent concerns genuinely matter in the decision-making process.
What was especially disheartening was the discussion surrounding the SpEd consultant review process was not even listed on the public agenda. Many parents who coordinated coverage for their families to attend last night’s community conversation — and who tonight were home caring for their children — had no reasonable opportunity to anticipate that this topic would be discussed or to be present for public comment in response.
At the same time, there were comments from board members that gave the impression that public involvement in the consultant selection process itself was not appropriate . Does the Board of Education exist to represent the community, shouldn’t the community have a voice in shaping a review process that directly impacts so many children and families?
It also became apparent that an RFQ/RFP process for consultants already appears largely defined behind the scenes, despite the community’s overwhelming call for a truly transparent and independent review. Waiting until after parents courageously shared their stories to reveal that process felt less like collaboration and more like confirmation that decisions may already be made before public input is even heard. Let’s adopt an acronym “RFFAPE” right for fair and appropriate…
Families are not asking for perfection. They are asking for accountability, transparency, and independent oversight. They are asking to be treated as partners rather than obstacles.
When so many parents walk away feeling dismissed by the very system entrusted to support their children, that is not a communication problem. It is a trust problem.
Please come to the next Board of Education meeting, Thursday, June 4, 7pm, Staples High School, Cafeteria B (Room 301), in support of a transparent and independent review of the special education system. Your presence matters.