Parents and advocates press Montgomery County board for stronger behavioral supports, raise special-education cuts

Several parents and community members told the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Board of Education during public comment that the district must invest more in behavioral supports for students and better training and backing for teachers.

Megan Wise, speaking as an advocate and parent, told the board: "The district is failing to support students with behavioral needs and at the same time it's failing to support the educators tasked with teaching and protecting them." She urged immediate investment in behavior supports, training and accountability.

Amanda Frost, who identified herself as a Clarksville native and a professional in behavioral intervention, told the board she had observed what she characterized as systemic failures and said behavior-intervention training remains optional districtwide. Frost said: "If we continue to minimize abuse as a training issue, refusing to require training until the next child is hurt or the next teacher quits. The time to invest in behavior support, training and accountability is now." She also criticized administrators who she said bully teachers and fail to meet student needs.

Christine McNamara Moore said reductions to early special-education services have had immediate effects on families. She said her child’s developmental preschool was rezoned to another school and that transportation had been removed for the upcoming school year; she said hours would be reduced to “2 and a half hours of education twice a week” instead of moving to a full five-day program. "I was notified that he will no longer be receiving his transportation in the upcoming school year," she said.

Speakers linked some cuts and staffing decisions to broader district budgeting and policy choices and expressed frustration that the district appears to prioritize other initiatives over supports for vulnerable students. Board members listening did not take immediate formal action during the public-comment period; the remarks were entered into the record for future consideration by the board and staff.

District leaders previously presented programmatic supports for high school students at the same meeting, including credit recovery, counseling partnerships and summer programs; several speakers during public comment said those efforts do not substitute for mandatory behavioral training and sufficient special-education staffing in all schools.

Board members and staff did not dispute the parents’ accounts but did not announce new mandates or funding changes during the meeting. Several board members thanked speakers for raising concerns and said staff would follow up as appropriate.