New Foster's Editorial

Foster's Editorial:

Article published Jul 19, 2010
OR IDEA case went too far

Depending on how you look at it, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has been a blessing or a burden — albeit a just one.

For parents, it has been a godsend in helping their children overcome debilitating handicaps. For school districts, it has been expensive and time consuming.

But in either case, IDEA has been in place long enough that the Oyster River School District should not have found itself being ordered to pay out $50,000 to settle a dispute over when Miles Brady would be able to graduate.

The telling admission that the case should never have gone this far appeared in Thursday's report in Foster's Daily Democrat when the district conceded Brady's individual education plan would not be met in time for an January graduation, rather than one in June.

IEPs, as they are called, are worked out between the district and families. For the most part they are mutually agreed upon plans to address a student's handicaps.

It is hard to believe the district didn't know Brady's IEP had not been met before being dragged before Hearing Officer John LeBrun. IDEA has been in place too long for district officials to make such an expensive mistake.

And for what? A few months of classroom time?

No Interest Shown in Vacant Board Seat

DURHAM — The Oyster River School Board may soon face a dilemma in regard to filling the vacant seat on the board as no one from Madbury has shown interest in the seat.

The position was left vacant when former Board Chair Mark Townsend resigned June 7.

Representatives on the board consist of one from Durham, Lee and Madbury, along with four at-large representatives. Townsend was the Madbury representative.

The board posted the position and was hoping that someone from Madbury would've shown interest in the position by now, but no one has, according to Superintendent Howard Colter.

"The School Board is working in cooperation with Madbury selectmen to fill the vacancy," he said. "We would be happy to have someone from Madbury on the School Board and are waiting for someone to step forward and fill the vacancy."

However, filling the seat outside of Madbury, while unlikely, hasn't been ruled out.

Colter stressed the vacant seat is intended for a Madbury representative, but admitted that at some point the question about filling the vacancy with a Lee or Durham representative will likely come up.

"When do you say we've waited too long?" he said. "We may need to consult with counsel to find out what we need to do if no one steps forward to fill the position."

Colter declined to give an opinion when asked if the recent tension on the board, along with recent resignations, may be influencing the lack of interest in the position.

"One could probably make that argument, but I don't want to speculate," he said.

The board has seen three resignations in three years, including the resignations of two board chairs.

The most recent resignation of Townsend created the most bitterness because of an e-mail chain between Townsend and board counsel. The e-mail chain consisted of Townsend and Colter seeking a legal opinion about Board Member Henry Brackett's comments at a Lee Board of Selectmen's meeting in May.

However, the e-mail chain also contained allegations from Townsend toward other board members, which created some friction between them at a June School Board meeting.

Colter said the important thing now is to get someone new on the board.

"This situation isn't ideal," he said. "We'd like to have a full board made up of seven people."

Colter said he is willing to meet with anyone who has some interest in the position to answer their questions. He can be contacted at 868-5100.

Fosters Article on Recent Lawsuit

DURHAM — A $50,000 settlement was recently reached between the Oyster River School District and the parents of a former special needs student in the district.

The settlement pertains to the attorney fees incurred by Lisa Brady, as she successfully battled the district over when her son, Miles Brady, could graduate.

Miles Brady suffers from Asperger's Syndrome and entered his fifth year at Oyster River High School last fall.

The district was seeking to have Miles graduate in January 2010, while his parents argued that he needed a full year of school and should graduate in June. The case was heard by the New Hampshire Department of Education.

During the hearing parties on both sides argued about whether or not Miles was ready to leave high school and enter college.

Miles' psychiatrist Dr. Eileen Spitzer testified that the extra six months in school would be crucial for his development, particularly his goal of attending the University of New Hampshire in the fall.

"The student must increase skills to be able to manage life at UNH. In Dr. Spitzer's opinion, the student will not be ready for college by January 2010 and the student is not ready to leave high school at this time and lose the supports that are in place," according to the hearing report prepared by Hearing Officer John LeBrun.

Lisa Brady also argued that her son needed to finish a full year of Spanish and take physics in order to reach his goal of attending UNH.

The district argued that Miles had enough credits to graduate and made sufficient progress, despite not meeting all the goals in his individual education plan. The state DOE ultimately disagreed.

"The District made a commitment to provide a full year for the Spanish course and graduation in January 2010 would not allow that to occur," LeBrun's final ruling stated. "In addition, the transition plan goals and objectives have not been met, including independent living goals, community participation goals, prevocational goals, vocational goals, such as securing employment."

Lisa Brady couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday.

The Oyster River School district declined to comment on the case when contacted on Wednesday. Superintendent Howard Colter described the settlement as the district's best option.

"In the end we all felt it was the best of our alternatives," Colter said. "Overall, it was the best option we had."

The district paid $30,000 of the settlement from it legal expenses account within the special education budget, while the district's insurance company picked up $20,000 of the settlement.

Miles Brady graduated from Oyster River High School last month.

District Settles Suit Over Special Needs Student

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ORCSD settled the lawsuit with the Brady family and paid $50,000 for attorney's fees

Update on the Madbury School Board Seat

Apparently no one has come forward in Madbury to volunteer the time to be on the school board. According to NH law, the school district has sent notification to the Madbury selectmen to find a replacement for Mr. Townsend for nomination.

If you are new to this blog, Mr. Townsend - former Madbury school board member and chair - resigned recently. The details on this are found in previous posts and Foster's.

SAU Summer Hours

SAU Summer Hours

The summer hours for the ORCSD Central Office will be Monday - Thursday 8:00 - 4:00 pm starting Friday, July 2^ndthrough Friday, August 13th. Normal Monday - Friday office hours will resume on Monday, August 16^th.

Link:

http://www.orcsd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=336:sau-summer-hours&catid=6:announcements&Itemid=77

School Board News for June 2010

In case you did not see the School Board News (it was not mailed out this year to save money), here is a link to it under 'Announcements' on the ORCSD web site.

Definitely check it out. You will read what our Board goals are and some interesting updates from the principals, committees, etc.