Parents and students urge Chino Valley board to reinstate program specialist after surprise nonrenewal

A wave of public comments at the Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting on March 9 centered on the announced nonrenewal of program specialist Christopher Farley and broader complaints about special-education service delivery.

Christopher Farley, who identified himself as a program specialist with Chino Valley Unified, said he was told his nonrenewal would be presented to the board the same day with only hours' notice. "I was called in a couple hours before the board meeting and told that I was going to board that night," Farley said. "That's unprofessional. It's not showing the same level of professionalism that I show." (Christopher Farley)

Multiple parents and staff described Farley as an effective advocate for medically fragile students and for families navigating IEPs. Tracy Guzman told the board she encountered "predetermined decisions" from the special-education department and said one of her sons missed a service written in his IEP last year, a concern she described as a potential failure to implement an IEP under federal law.

Linda Higgins described Farley as a leader who "works to unify the team" and urged the board to reconsider his nonrenewal because of the programmatic impact on medically fragile students. Brad Berson and other parents gave concrete examples of students who, they said, had benefited from Farley's advocacy and urged the board not to let him go.

Student speakers and organizers presented petitions and described growing student activism. A student speaker said one campus gathered more than 300 signatures for a petition demanding changes to the district's political actions and more student input; other student speakers framed their demands as urging the board to focus on education rather than on "culture war" litigation that, they asserted, diverts funds from classrooms.

Speakers raised numbers for legal fees and program staffing during remarks. One student speaker said the district spent "over 1,300,000 last year and over $550,000 this year" defending the district in lawsuits; another commenter contrasted those legal costs with the $300,000 that, they said, would fund the contested position.

The board did not announce any immediate personnel action in response to public comment. Board members thanked speakers for coming and acknowledged the emotional tenor of the remarks. At the end of the meeting the board adjourned after routine member comments.

Ending: Public commentators asked the board to reconsider Christopher Farley's nonrenewal and to address alleged IEP implementation failures; the board acknowledged the comments but recorded no immediate reversal or vote related to the personnel matter.