No K-6 Special Education Director Next School Year

Incoming interim superintendent Claire Jackson plans not to replace special education director Carol Riccardi-Gahan, whose contract the School Committee decided earlier this year not to renew.

Gahan has gotten support from parents and teachers at School Committee meetings in recent weeks, but her time in Norfolk appears to be over.

Jackson said during the School Committee meeting this past Wednesday night that it’s too late in the school year to find a good replacement for Gahan, so she has decided to augment the roles of other special-education specialists next school year and save the special education director’s $100,000 salary.

The announcement frightened some parents, who said the school district can’t do without a special education director who can make decisions about individual education plans for students who are struggling.

Jackson acknowledged that she doesn’t yet have a plan in place for special education, but said she plans to announce details soon. She is just starting in her new role — the School Committee voted Wednesday night to appoint her as interim superintendent starting 5 p.m. Friday, June 18, replacing Don LeClerc, who technically remains superintendent through June 30 but is on terminal vacation as of Friday.

Kym Yadisernia, who has an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old in the Norfolk elementary schools’ special education program, noted that School Committee officials earlier in the evening discussed a resolution urging the state to take on the burden of special-education funding, and then later in the evening announced the special education director won’t be replaced next school year.

“I find that the whole discussion tonight is a little scary to me,” Yadisernia said. “… I kind of feel our children who need the most help are being left out on the curb.”

School Committee member Linda Andrews, who herself is a special education director in central Massachusetts, urged parents to give Jackson time. She noted that Jackson has extensive experience as a superintendent elsewhere and said she has full confidence in her.

“She’s not going to let your children down,” Andrews said.