Andrew Goldberg is a journalist, an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer and director, and a Westport resident. Writing today as “a concerned parent and community member, not a journalist,” and stressing that “any opinions here are my own,” he says:
In 2023, I wrote an article for Newsweek about how the Westport schools tried to pay my family for silence about antisemitic bullying directed at my son. We felt the administration’s “offer” went far beyond reasonable, even requiring our 12-year-old to stay silent about the antisemitism he’d experienced.
The story was covered by MSNBC, ABC Eyewitness News, News 12 and many other outlets. The head of the Anti-Defamation League called Westport school’s actions “disgusting.” The experience was traumatic.
To make matters the worse, the administration and Board of Education responded to the visibility with political spin, defensive articles and posts, and personal attacks. Their effort was petulant and transparent. It was yet another painful chapter in a school system that harmed a child.
Andrew Goldberg
I am writing now because I want to draw attention to something happening that I believe represents yet another failure by our school leadership. I am talking about the treatment of too many of our most vulnerable students.
A rapidly growing community of parents of children with special education needs is being pushed to their breaking point by how Westport schools treat their kids. You may have seen articles about this. Listening to these parents describe their experiences with our administrators is heartbreaking.
The parents have eyebrow-raising concerns: questionable use of funds, inadequate training, and children’s needs being ignored, dismissed or minimized.
What’s worse are the claims of children being treated in ways that strike me — and others — as willfully cruel, if not outright abusive.
That this is happening in Westport of all places is bewildering. But these parents have hit a breaking point and are organizing. A petition has surpassed 700 signatures.
A few weeks ago, an estimated 100 parents packed a BOE meeting. At that and many other Board meetings they share the most painful and maddening stories. This has reached a critical mass.
Then there’s the seemingly endless litigation. Board of Ed budgets show that in 2019, the year before Tom Scarice started, Westport spent roughly $903,000 on special education legal fees, litigation and settlements.
Since then, that number has ballooned to $1,828,007 for 2024–2025. That’s more than a 100% increase in 6 years. This should concern everyone.
Still, you can see it in their eyes as they reflect on their children’s struggles, and how the administration provided them no relief.
Others tell us they’re terrified of retaliation by the school system – and I’d argue they should be.
I know from experience how vindictive certain people in this system can be. I was bad-mouthed by leadership when I spoke up about my son’s bullying, and at one point even spoke to an attorney about it.
If there’s one consistent message I hear from parents, it’s that they feel Westport school leadership – in particular Lee Goldstein, Tom Scarice and Mike Rizzo– act in a way they consider to be cold, non-responsive, combative and even cruel.
To be clear, this is not about the hardworking teachers who commit so much to our kids. They are to be applauded. And this is not to say some students have not benefitted from our SpEd programs – they have.
But the mere success of some doesn’t excuse the failure others. Rather, this is about our leadership, and what many consider a moral breach with our children.
A group of parents have proposed a path forward. But so far, much of what they’ve asked for has been rebuked.
Specifically, they’d like Westport’s special education department to be reviewed and audited by a legitimate third party firm, with parents actively involved in selecting that firm and helping determine the scope and details of the review.
This is not an uncommon practice for SpEd departments. Many schools, including Greenwich, have involved parents in such audits.
I asked superintendent Scarice if parents could be involved. He replied: “Parents are not participating in the selection of the consultant/vendor who will conduct the review.”
Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
I find this decision to be reckless and dismissive, and believe it will set a dangerous precedent.
Let me state clearly: There are far too many deeply concerning allegations for this audit to go on without active parental involvement. The need for not just transparency but shared decision making is paramount.
And to remove parents from the equation is a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse. While I cannot read minds, my sense is this decision is because leadership fears what skeletons a thorough audit might reveal.
I recently saw a video of Lee Goldstein from 2018, when she addressed the school board about sexual assault (roughly the 46-48 minute mark).
She argued that some residents she spoke to felt the school board was only responding to problems with “lip service rather than addressing them,” and that the “district cares more about its image than about what was really happening.”
The next year, during her successful run for the Board of Education, she said, “Transparency and accountability are the most important values I share.” Unfortunately, many feel the same issues she raised have simply not improved on her watch.
We simply cannot stay on our current path. I am hopeful the BOE and school leadership allow for the transparency and involvement that parents are requesting –not the self-policing option it has put forward — and realize it is here to serve the students, not the other way around.
(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. Send submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com.)