Why are school district, BOE ducking responsibility?

Whether you are a parent, a student or a town official, it must be frustrating to deal with both the Winchester school district and members of its Board of Education right now.Over the past few months, complaints and accusations have been made against the district and the board about how they have handled pressing issues, or in some cases, how they have not handled issues at all. These complaints and accusations have not come from a small group of people, but from many people who represent almost all sides of the educational spectrum.In October, representatives from The Gilbert School and Arthur Melycher, the chairman of the town’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, filed separate complaints with the state’s Department of Education that stated the school district is mishandling its special education program. These complaints have led the department to begin an investigation into the district.In November, results of an independent audit of the district’s special education program were given at a public meeting. The audit was conducted by CREC Expert Solutions of Hartford at the behest of Superintendent of Schools Anne Watson — not the Board of Education.While public funds were used to pay for the audit, no members of the public were allowed to speak or question presenters during the presentation of the audit. When any audience member tried to speak, they were hushed by Board of Education Chairman Susan Hoffnagle. This in itself created a bad image for the school district and school board because it appeared they did not care to listen to concerned parents and residents.Going forward to this month, at the Board of Education meeting on Jan. 13, a young student spoke during the public comments section of the meeting, alleging abuse during his time at Pearson Middle School. His comments, along with other comments made by parents and other individuals at other meetings, did not get a response from Watson or other board members.The school district needs to look into and thoroughly investigate these allegations made by the student. Board members could have said that to the student and audience, which would have been some reassurance to the general public. Instead, the comments were met with a quiet hush from the board. To top it all off, at a Board of Selectmen’s finance subcommittee meeting on Jan. 15, Finance Director Brenda Fox-Howard said she has not been able to communicate with staff of the school district over concerns with the district’s budget.The fact that all of these allegations and complaints are piling up without being addressed should be cause for concern for Winsted residents. If these allegations and complaints are not addressed, then voters should keep that in mind next Election Day. Residents elected a board to deal with issues and not run away from them. Winsted needs a board that is committed to the safety and well-being of the students and the community at large.