School lawyers claim the work performed by a public relations firm should not be made public.
The lawyers, Shipman & Goodwin, a firm that represents the majority of public school districts in Connecticut, including Darien, decided that the discussions between the district and Duby McDowell Communications will not be disclosed, citing an exemption clause under the Freedom of Information Act known as lawyer-client privilege.
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A desk audit conducted during the summer by state officials found Darien Schools were out of compliance in 16 areas related to bullying, sexual harassment and gender equality in school sports. These findings have opened up a litany of other management issues going back to 2011, as a lack of information from the district administration has prevented the problems from receiving public scrutiny.
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A flood of information has drowned a once-parched parent community that is now trying to unravel an assortment of issues that could have harmed the town’s most vulnerable students, and perhaps also, its most creative.
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A year of tumult sparked by an illegal special education program has cost Darien more than $390,000 to fix, according to invoices and salary information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
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“It was the most difficult job of my career.”
The words of attorney Sue Gamm, said to The Darien Times, speak volumes to the depth of problems that took place in Darien’s special education program last year. If there were any doubts that the 25 parents who signed a complaint with the state Department of Education had been melodramatic with their concerns, it’s likely that Gamm’s summary report could dispel that assumption.
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In a dramatic turn of events spawned from the special education crisis, the school district’s superintendent has stepped down after three years of leadership.
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Unbudgeted expenses continue to pile up on Darien Schools as the district works to fix a complex web of problems in its special education program.
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While the schools have publicized a summarized version of what residents, teachers and students are looking for in an interim special education director, an examination of the entire results paints a somewhat different picture — one of a divided town that is split over the best path for the schools to take.
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Darien Schools spent more than $124,000 on legal fees and public relations help from April through July as it navigates its way through an unprecedented special education problem.
Darien’s special education policies continue to face heavy scrutiny from parents, lawyers and others, who have said the district could be failing to inform parents of their rights when some parents of children with disabilities seek to place their children in private school.
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David DesRoches 