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Parents demand return of Wines Elementary therapy dog; board hears concerns over training, certification and legal fees
Summary
Multiple speakers urged the district to return Gracie, a therapy dog at Wines Elementary, to teacher Lexi Fata, raised safety and liability concerns (alleged use of a shock collar, lack of certification), and asked why the district is spending legal fees during a major budget shortfall and staff layoffs.
A wave of public commenters pressed the board to resolve a lingering dispute over Gracie, a therapy dog at Wines Elementary, questioning the district's spending on litigation and its management of therapy-dog training and certification.
Community members and several speakers recited similar concerns: that Gracie was trained with aversive methods (including an alleged shock collar), that the dog never received certification through Therapy Dogs International, and that the district has no formal therapy-dog policy or consistent training protocols. "Gracie was not trained properly to be a therapy dog," one parent said, adding that the dog's license and microchip are registered to the teacher, and citing owner documentation in support of the claim. Multiple commenters asked why the district is paying outside counsel (Clark Hill) to litigate the matter while the district faces a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall and recent staff layoffs.
Several speakers, including relatives and supporters of teacher Lexi Fata, argued the dog's ownership documents (license, microchip) indicate legal ownership belongs to Ms. Fata and asked that Gracie be returned promptly. Others raised safety concerns after describing episodes of reactivity and one parent said they had been charged by the dog.
District staff acknowledged the public's concerns and that there is currently no districtwide therapy-dog policy; they presented the matter to the board in the public-comment record and noted multiple offers had been made (including free replacement dogs and training) that community members say were not adopted. The district did not announce a final policy at the meeting.
Trustees heard repeated calls to stop further litigation spending on the matter or to pursue lower-cost resolutions; no board vote or final action on the legal matter was recorded at the meeting. Many speakers connected the Gracie litigation to broader accountability and budget questions, asking that the board prioritize student-facing services during the ongoing financial shortfall.
