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Parents demand rehiring of Westmoreland High aide, urge Sumner County to fund ADA playground upgrades
Summary
Parents of students with complex disabilities urged Sumner County officials to rehire a recently dismissed classroom aide at Westmoreland High School and to increase funding for ADA-compliant playgrounds and extended school-year services, saying current staffing and accessibility plans create safety and civil‑rights risks.
Tina Stevenson, a parent of an 18‑year‑old student at Westmoreland High School, told Sumner County elected officials that recent staff reductions have left classrooms unsafe for students with complex disabilities and asked that a dismissed aide be rehired to restore a three‑assistant staffing model.
"Summer County, please do not remain deliberately indifferent to our community by actively ignoring our safety concerns," Stevenson said during the public‑comment period, listing her son’s diagnoses and the intensive, around‑the‑clock support his IEP requires.
The plea came alongside similar statements from other parents and caregivers who described years of daily care burdens, safety risks in classrooms when aides are reduced, and what they characterized as repeated denials of Extended School Year (ESY) services. Heather Broadway described her son’s improved engagement at Westmoreland and said removing the aide would undo progress: "If you don't have a special needs child,…
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