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Public urges board to review rising special-education settlements and legal costs
Summary
During public testimony a resident asked the board to analyze an apparent rise in special-education due‑process settlements and placement costs, citing multiple settled complaints and several high-cost student placements; the administration said it is conducting a deeper review and will report back.
A member of the public used the agenda's public testimony period to press the Crestwood School Board for a systematic review of special-education complaints, placements and associated legal costs, saying the trend of settlements and attorney fees appears to have increased in recent years.
"Everybody who applied last year got money," the public commenter said in the context of state facility grants, and then turned to legal concerns, citing a review that found about seven due-process settlements in the last two and a half years and a high of 13 in 2024–25. The commenter referenced several past agenda items and specific settlement figures, including amounts of roughly $142,454 and $92,500 for reported placements and agreements.
Board members and administrators responded that special-education matters are handled with a separate special-education solicitor and that the administration is beginning a deeper analysis. Superintendent Malazo said the administration had not previously assembled the kind of trend analysis the commenter described and that the team is "looking at it" and will follow up. A district official said that some legal costs reflected grievances related to furloughs and other non–special-education matters and that total legal fees reported earlier included multiple categories.
Speakers emphasized confidentiality limits: specific student placements and details may be protected, but participants urged the board to identify systemic drivers and responses that can reduce recurring disputes and high-cost outplacements. A board member said a work session will focus on further analysis and projections.
What happens next: Administration acknowledged it will do a deeper dive into special-education complaints and legal spending patterns and report back at a forthcoming work session so the board can consider policy and operational remedies.
Sources: public testimony during agenda item public comment; responses from district administration during the meeting.
