Why the Killingly BOE hearing with the state has been postponed again: a 60 second read
Wednesday's Killingly's 10-4b hearing with the State Board of Education has been canceled, with no new date scheduled.
The hearing, which was scheduled on Dec. 13 to take place on Wednesday, Jan. 17, was for further investigation into the board's handling of the need for mental health services for students after the district declined the offer of a free student health center.
The 10-4b complaint was filed by a group called the Concerned Citizens and Parents of Killingly, who allege that the board's failure to secure the grant-funded student mental health center is an indication that the board was unwilling or unable to implement the educational needs of the students, and filed a complaint with the CT State Department of Education.
Why was the hearing postponed?
Last week, the Killingly Board of Education voted 5-3 to replace attorney Deborah Stevenson with the law firm Shipman & Goodwin. Stevenson had been representing the board in its 10-4b hearing. Since then, it has come to light that Shipman & Goodwin is unable to represent the Killingly board, and the board will meet this week to appoint new counsel.
What does resolution look like?
Attorney Andrew Feinstein, who represents the Concerned Citizens and Parents group, said that there are three areas of discussion to be resolved:
Availability of clinicians at the schools
Ability for students to walk in seeking treatment
Availability of services for staff members
"I do not see this as a difficult matter to resolve," Feinstein said. "We should be able to resolve it quickly and easily."
What's next?
Although there has been no new hearing dates, state BOE attorney Darren Cunningham has instructed the Killingly Board and the Citizens group to file a joint statement by Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. as to whether a resolution has been reached.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Killingly 10-4b hearing with CT BOE postponed again
