2007-09-20 FORSYTH HERALD
Forsyth citizens protest mistreatment of special ed students BOE lauds Midway evacuation efforts
by Christine Braden	write the author
Nancy Roche September 24, 2007 Following the recent demotion of the former director of special education for Forsyth County Schools, several concerned citizens voiced their opinions on the matter at the Forsyth County Board of Education regular meeting Thursday Sept. 20. In a show of solidarity, parents and citizens filled the board chambers to protest the alleged mistreatment of students in Forsyth special education programs. "There have been many reports made to school officials, principals, human resources, a human resource director and others about reported abuse and, or, harassment or mistreatment of children either by an educator or somebody else," said Terry Baradine, a concerned Forsyth citizen and parent. "I would hope the human resource office takes these complaints seriously. You have it on your Web site where people can complain and we don't get a response back. It's pretty typical and it's very frustrating for the parents." Parents demanded that the board "reign in" an out of control school administration. The most prevalent belief being that administrators did not have any remorse for the way special needs children have been treated in Forsyth, because they have never been held accountable for their actions. 'Forsyth Schools may not be effectively addressing or investigating reported child abuse or reported child mistreatment.' Terry Baradine Forsyth citizen and parent "Forsyth Schools may not be effectively addressing or investigating reported child abuse or reported child mistreatment," said Baradine. Currently, there are several cases pending against the county involving allegations of abuse against students with special needs. Because of the litigation Forsyth County School Board Chairwoman, Nancy Roche, reminded the five citizens signed up to speak before the regular meeting that their comments must not include anything that would later be heard in court. That restricted parents and citizens from speaking about specific students, personnel or incidents. "Disabled children are having their rights taken from them [in Forsyth County Schools] and disabled children are being run out of the school system," said Dennis Jarrard, father of a special needs student in Forsyth. Parents were also present to silently protest the reassignment of Sharon Purdie. Reportedly, Purdie was demoted after advocating for the rights of special education students and informing parents about their options when she felt they were being mistreated. "It concerns us all when teachers advocate for their children and they get retaliated against. That is unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable," Baradine said. "Can't a parent speak up for their child in this school system?" Electronic reminders were e-mailed out over the last week encouraging citizens to attend and speak out against misuse of power by administrators who are accused of not only doing nothing for special needs children, but also inflicting mental abuse and wielding their power against anyone who tries to stop them. Several citizens complained that their pleas for the school board to step in and do something have been ignored and even carefully concealed. "Does the school board have a political will to address this or will the school board investigate school officials who continually brush things under the carpet?" asked Baradine. Beyond waiting for legal action to take place, parents asked the board to step in and deal with the alleged problems. "I'm here today to ask this school board to stop the cancer from growing anymore in this district," said Jarrard. "Our system has many fine educators, dedicated that all children are treated fairly. It's because of them that this system can again become one of the top systems in the state." In other business, the board also applauded the efforts of emergency planning staff for the quick evacuation of Midway Elementary School to Vickery Creek Elementary on Monday after a nearby gas main broke. "Because we practice drills monthly, everyone was calm," said Midway Principal Todd Smith. Within seven minutes of pulling the fire alarm, 20 buses pulled up to help transport students to Vickery Creek. Twelve minutes later, all 609 students had left the premise by bus. "It was a textbook operation," said Bruce Wagar, director of school safety. "I'm very proud of all the faculty and staff at Midway. Everyone worked together." The board will meet next on Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. at the Forsyth County Board of Education and Professional Development Center at 1120 Dahlonega Highway in Cumming.

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