North Haven Leaders Meet with Superintendent Over Plan for Special Education Changes (CT)

June 21, 2011

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The
town’s representatives in Hartford met with Superintendent of Schools Robert D.
Cronin on Monday to hear his plan for special education and to voice their
opinion on changes Cronin wants to make.

At 6 Tuesday night, Cronin will be presenting his priorities for the school
district, including some changes in the special education program. He has been
on the job since April. The meeting will take place at the North Haven High School
auditorium, 221 Elm St. Ext.

Parents and teachers are upset over Cronin’s suggestion to realign special
education staff following three reports that suggest changes should be made in
the way North Haven delivers special education services.

There are 36 special education teachers in North Haven schools and Cronin
recently notified the staff that nine of them may be transferred to other jobs
or may be laid off if there are no positions next year that meet their
certifications. One of the reports, done by Capital Region Educational Council,
suggests that the staff can be reallocated while the caseload remains
reasonable.

That report also cites a lack of continuum of services.

Cronin said that new programs need to be developed. The Capital Region report says
that the lack of programming options has led to an increase in out-of-district
placements.

State Sen. Leonard A. Fasano and Rep. Dave Yaccarino, both R-North Haven, and
First Selectman Michael J. Freda said they have been bombarded by parents and
others concerned that the strong bonds the children have with educators may be
broken with the proposed changes.

Yaccarino said that he and Fasano asked Cronin to delay any changes until the
2012 school year because there has been “no real forum. You have to have an
open dialogue.”

“We expressed to him that without having a written plan, there’s no way we can
support what he’s doing. He needs to bring in the special needs community,”
said Fasano. “He needs to get to know the community, the parents and the teachers,
and then do a change.”

Fasano and Yaccarino both said the plan is probably a good one, and the s ystem
could be overhauled, but it needs to be vetted first.

“I think his heart is in the right place and that he has the foundation,
educationally and otherwise, to achieve good results. I just think we should
all know how to get there,” Fasano said.

“He’ll let us know before the meeting whether he will proceed slowly,” Fasano
added.

Cronin could not be reached for comment Monday.