Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent urges action after staff departures and communication breakdowns in White Hills ASD program
Summary
At the March 9 meeting a parent, Sarah Wilson, and another parent who identified himself as a teacher described staffing instability and poor communication in the White Hills ASD program after the ASD teacher resigned; they said substitutes and delayed long-term hiring have reduced their sons access to the least-restrictive environment, and they urged administrative accountability.
Sarah Wilson, a parent of a fifth grader in the White Hills ASD program, addressed the East Lansing School District Board of Education on March 9 to raise concerns about staffing stability and communication following the resignation of her childs ASD teacher.
"I honestly feel like there's just a lot of smoke being blown around," Wilson said, describing what she called "subjective evaluations" presented at a parent-teacher conference that claimed rapid student progress after the teachers departure. She told the board that her son, Nick, had attended general education only "three to five times total since Miss Zambova resigned" and that the family had difficulty identifying who was staffing the ASD room.
Wilson said administrators ran conferences (she named Principal Williams and Dr. Armstrong) and she was surprised staff members who routinely work with the students were not the primary contacts. She described arranging a classroom observation and finding several staff present but said the observation was scheduled during a low-activity period. Wilson said she was eventually given a speech therapist ("Julie Rar," as transcribed) as a contact but was concerned that person was not in the building regularly.
A second commenter, who identified himself as a teacher and Wilsons husband, said multiple paras and two teachers had left midyear in White Hills and that a long-term substitute was only hired after more than a month of day-to-day substitutes. "We were lied to," he said of explanations given at the parent-teacher conference for why a teacher left. He also said he has not received a district response to email messages he sent that included Dr. Armstrong and the superintendent.
Both speakers framed their concerns around the consistency of services for ASD students and the legal requirement for the least-restrictive environment. They asked the board to examine staffing practices and communication with parents so that students receive consistent supports.
The public-comment period is not a formal board action item; the transcript records parents statements and requests but does not show a board response or a staff presentation that addressed these specific allegations during the meeting. The superintendent or staff were given an opportunity earlier in the meeting to clarify misunderstandings, but no clarifying remarks addressing these complaints are recorded in the transcript. The boards next regular meeting is March 23, 2026.
