Parents of special needs students in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 questioned the district’s commitment to special education at Monday night’s school board meeting, citing the lack of parental involvement in hiring a new director.
The board approved the appointment of Geneva Oatman as the new special education director by a 4-2 vote after listening to comments from parents who said they had been excluded from the hiring process.
After the district’s previous director resigned last May, parents said they expected to be included in discussion surrounding hiring a replacement. John Rompon and Tom Mulhern, both parents of special education students, said no parents were approached.
“There were specific requests for involvement that were ignored,” said Mulhern, a member of the district’s special education steering committee.
Mulhern said requests for collaboration are not out of the ordinary — the district formed a committee of parents and teachers to make recommendations when it was hiring a new principal at Dewey Elementary School two years ago.
John Rompon told the board that a letter to Superintendent Hardy Ray Murphy asking for collaboration in the hiring process was mailed Aug. 31, but no response was received.
Rompon, a member of Answers for Special Kids — an advocacy group for special needs students, said the district’s hiring process contradicted recommendations the district received from a special education consultant two years ago.
“Do you think that posting a job notice for three weeks is an appropriate way to fill a position that directly affects at least a quarter of (the district’s) students?” Rompon said.
Murphy refuted the idea that special needs students are ignored and said the hiring process was more comprehensive than parents perceived.
“I think everyone at this table, and in our schools, feels strongly about the needs of our special needs students,” Murphy said.
During board discussion, members raised concerns about how the district pursued filling the position but said they have full faith in the ability of Oatman.
“I don’t think we’ve gone through an adequate national search,” board member Jonathan Baum said.
Baum said before he could vote for the appointment, he wanted to see more communication and a comprehensive search for a candidate.
Board members Marianne Kountoures and Bob Eder said the board’s job is not to choose candidates for positions but to hold the superintendent responsible if his appointees aren’t getting the job done.
“The board should be concerned with results, not process,” Eder said.
Murphy said Oatman is an ideal candidate for the job and praised her administrative abilities and effectiveness.
“I don’t think we could have found a better person.” Murphy said.
But Mulhern and Rompon said process matters. They emphasized that they were not criticizing Oatman, only the way that she was hired.
Mulhern said the district has outstanding individual staff and strong parent support but needs to find a way to leverage those assets.
Rompon said collaboration between educators, parents, and administrators is the way to strengthen special education and a key recommendation in Cole Report, a report released by an outside consultant who analyzed the district’s special education policies.
“It was Dr. Murphy’s managerial style in the hiring process that led to the plurality of the vote,” Rompon said.
He said parent communication with the board and the administration must be improved in the future on all issues, not just special education.
“Perception matters,” Rompon said. “I wish I didn’t get this dismissive sense. I wish I didn’t get the sense that perception doesn’t matter, because it does.”
Reach Ben Clark at [email protected].