Just as the school district is undertaking an effort to reign in special education costs, it has lost the person who has served as the head of that department.
Director of Special Education Dr. Tina Parchin left the district last month.
“Tina left suddenly with little notice,” Board of Education chairman Tim Walsh said. “I understand that she secured a job in a community near Hartford.”
Her exit comes as schools Superintendent Freeman Burr is completing a reorganization of Central Office that eliminates more than a dozen positions there and saves the district more than a million dollars.
Burr was forced to look for ways to save money after the Board of Aldermen approved Mayor Mark A. Laruetti’s $66.3 million school budget, more than $3 million less than the school board had requested.
The budget led to dozens of layoffs of both certified and non-certified personnel. It also prompted Burr to reorganize Central Office positions to maximize the funds spent there.
That reorganization included the creation of a position to coordinate both special education and mainstream education, Walsh said. Parchin was not being considered for that post, he said. “But she was guaranteed a position in special education,” he said.
This week the board approved hiring named Janice Simonetti as the new Supervisor/Coordinator of Special Education K‑12, as well as Tracy Nolan Hussy as chairman of the Special Education department at Shelton Intermediate School.
Simonetti, the wife of Aldermen Anthony Simonetti, had been the supervisor for special education for grades seven through 12.
When Parchin left, she left several student cases in limbo, Walsh said, but the district was able to bring in David Marchitto, who has a broad base of experience in special education and works in the districts Student Support Services, to deal with those cases.
Marchetto has already made a difference, Walsh said, and his work may end up saving the schools much-needed money.
“David Marchitto has been hired on a per diem basis to work with special ed cases in mediation or having difficulty,” Walsh said. “He has resolved a few serious cases that Tina could not and his service may save us money that might have cost us a great deal if it was allowed to continue the way it has been going.”
Special education costs to the district have escalated over the past several years. Burr said in a letter to parents that one of his priorities is to keep those costs in check.
“A major goal this year will be to begin to reduce our Special Education cost overruns as the sate continues to reduce its funding support,” he said. One goal is to transition students placed out of district back to the city’s schools with the creation of new programs, he said.
“Over the past few years, special education costs have risen to a point where they are taking money from the regular ed side,” Walsh said. “I believe that the superintendent’s reorganization of Central Office will save money and serve the district much better than previously.”
