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Parents and teachers urge board to enforce public‑comment rules after alleged slander; call for review of special‑education placements
Summary
Three public commenters — including a parent and a teacher — told the Dearborn Heights School District #7 board that unsubstantiated, naming remarks at a prior meeting damaged staff reputations and urged the board to enforce public-comment rules, issue an apology and investigate special-education placements and lost intervention services.
Speakers at the Dec. 17 public‑comment period urged the Dearborn Heights School District #7 Board of Education to enforce meeting rules and to take steps after what they said were defamatory public remarks at a Dec. 3 meeting.
Dr. Beatatric Lapam Solis, a parent, said she was "deeply disturbed" by comments at the earlier meeting that labeled teachers with offensive and unsubstantiated allegations. She told the board that when grievances arise parents should pursue the school‑level chain — talk to the teacher, then the counselor, then the principal — before bringing accusations to a public forum, and said false public claims harm teacher morale and students. "Words matter," she said, and asked that speakers who offer unsubstantiated claims apologize when those claims are false.
Jennifer Blackburn, a teacher at OW Best, described rising classroom demands and staff shortages, and said three teachers were publicly slandered at the prior meeting "without interruption." Blackburn asked the board to restore stricter enforcement of public‑comment rules that prohibit naming staff and providing identifying details (such as pronouns, grade and subject) that can expose teachers to targeted attacks. She also requested a public apology to the teachers named at the earlier meeting and asked the board to follow up on whether special‑education students are being placed in the least restrictive environment and whether intervention classes and paraprofessional supports have been reduced.
Long‑time volunteer Virginia Morgan spoke about committee service and emphasized the importance of institutional memory on building and site projects; she also cautioned that some planned projects have been delayed or reprioritized because of urgent needs.
Board members did not make immediate substantive responses during the public‑comment period. Commenters said they have left written questions and requested follow‑up from administration.
