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Parent Ron Krishnowski presses Crestwood board over future of autistic-support classroom
Summary
A parent demanded clarity about the district's autistic-support program for grades 7'12, saying staff told him the program was gone; the superintendent said she could not discuss individual students and explained placement decisions are IEP-driven and sometimes handled through an intermediate unit.
Ron Krishnowski, a parent of a Crestwood student, confronted the school board during public comment to ask what will happen to autistic-support students in grades 7 through 12 next year. "Where's the autistic support at?" he asked, later adding, "This is a big lie," after recounting a conversation he said he had with district staff.
Superintendent Mrs. Malazo responded that she could not discuss individual students or their education plans in public but said the district maintains services for students with Individualized Education Programs and that placements are determined by team decisions involving staff, students and parents. "I cannot discuss individual students," she said, and later explained that staffing changes, resignations and use of substitute teachers had contributed to the current situation.
Members of the public and the CEA president warned that outsourcing specialized services or repeating cycles of starting and stopping an in-district autistic-support classroom can be costly and disruptive. "If the program is started and stopped and cut it will be ineffective," said Bill Kaine, identifying himself as the CA president. He urged the district to carefully consider cost and continuity before moving services offsite.
District leaders told the audience that some services are sometimes provided through the intermediate unit (IU) when student counts or staffing make an in-district classroom impractical; such decisions are driven by each student's IEP and the number and needs of eligible students. The superintendent said the district had a long-term substitute in the classroom after a resignation and that staffing changes earlier in the year affected continuity; she said no decision to eliminate services had been voted on by the board and that the academic committee would be the committee handling related follow-up.
Community members also raised related concerns about broader resource priorities, including the hiring of an art teacher and several capital projects, which some speakers said should be weighed against special-education staffing decisions.
The board did not take formal action on the autistic-support program at the meeting; board members noted the academic committee is the proper venue for continued review and that specific student plans are confidential.
