Parent says special-education leadership turnover at Connors is a "system failure"; committee requests follow-up

At the start of public comment on March 30, parent Chris Netto of Ward 7 told the Lewiston School Committee that his son has experienced high turnover in special-education leadership at Connors Elementary and urged a public written action plan and an independent outside review.

"They have gone through their seventh special ed director," Netto said, adding that his son had been handed off multiple times over three years and that, in one instance, in-person instruction was replaced by a teacher in Nevada via Zoom. "This is not a staffing issue. This is a system failure. Our kids deserve stability. Taxpayers deserve accountability, and this community deserves answers."

Netto asked the committee for two actions: a public written action plan to stabilize special-education leadership and an independent review of the causes of turnover. Several committee members reacted with concern and asked administration to clarify the facts. Member Goliat and others pressed staff to explain what the district calls the roles in question; Superintendent Jake Langless said the titles referenced at the podium were not always accurate and that some of the positions in schools are assistant principals with a focus on special education rather than separate "directors." Langless said contracted remote services (for specialties such as speech) are used where local applicants are unavailable, and that the district is pursuing in-district capacity expansion to reduce the higher costs of outplacement.

"I would also say that many of the things stated at the podium were not actually factual, including having seven different people or taking classes online," Langless said.

Members asked for a pathway to review the concerns without violating employee privacy; the chair and superintendent noted that deeper personnel discussions may require an executive session and that administration would provide additional factual clarification to the committee. Member Goliat requested that the issue be placed on a future agenda in a manner consistent with personnel confidentiality rules.

Why it matters: The parent's comments raise questions about leadership stability and service continuity for special-education students at Connors Elementary, and they prompted committee members to request a factual accounting and potential personnel-session follow-up.

What's next: Committee members asked administration to return with factual clarifications and to consider whether a public update or an executive-session personnel discussion is the appropriate next step.

Representative quotes: "This is not a staffing issue. This is a system failure," Netto said. The superintendent replied that some podium claims were not factual and offered to provide corrected detail to the committee.

Provenance: Public-comment segment beginning at SEG 042 where Chris Netto spoke; subsequent committee discussion and clarifying comments from the superintendent appear later in the meeting.