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Public commenters press Board on classroom setup; Special Ed director disputes claim about staff reassignment
Summary
Residents and staff disputed summer classroom furniture moves and alleged reassignment of Special Education teachers; Director Giovanna Irizarry denied that Special Ed teachers served as homeroom teachers, saying Interventionists filled homerooms and IEP services continued.
Several community members used the public comment period to raise concerns about classroom setups and staffing. Giuseppe Ricci criticized administrative decisions that altered classroom furniture and urged teachers be allowed to arrange rooms as they prefer, saying teachers are "the heart and soul of the school system." Ricci recommended teachers leave a map before summer cleaning so custodial staff can restore a preferred layout.
Director of Special Education Giovanna Irizarry challenged a prior statement made at the Oct. 21 meeting that Special Education teachers had been pulled from assignments and used as homeroom teachers. Irizarry said, "this is not true. The teachers who were assigned to homerooms were not Special Ed teachers but Interventionists, and any students that they were serving with an IEP, were serviced by another Interventionist." Superintendent Dr. Michele Pillari clarified the room changes were administrative decisions about furniture distribution and apologized that some teachers found rooms in disarray, stressing custodial staff were not responsible for the furniture moves.
