A scathing report from the state Department of Education found the Killingly school board engaged in apparent “deliberate indifference” when it came to addressing student mental health issues.
“And it is that systemic indifference that distinguishes this from other school boards confronting these issues,” according to the report from Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker which accused the Killingly board of “repeated failure and refusal to implement reasonable interventions to address students’ clear mental health, socio-emotional and behavioral needs.”
The 38-page report, which includes information obtained by sworn affidavits of district officials and others, is the culmination of a months-long state investigation into a citizens’ complaint filed in the wake of the board’s rejection of a school-based health center in March and its alleged failure to offer substantial alternative behavioral health options.
The report – and its recommendation that the Connecticut Board of Education order an inquiry into the matter – was released on Monday, just days before the state board was scheduled to discuss the topic.
State education investigators upheld the complainants’ allegation that the Killingly board “failed or is unable to make reasonable provision to implement the education interests” of the state.
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What led to the state investigation into Killingly’s school board?
On March 16, Republican Killingly board members Janice Joly (who’s since resigned), Norm Ferron – the board’s current chairman – Jennifer Hegedus, Kyle Napierata and Jason Muscara, along with Democrat Lydia Rivera Abrams, voted against allowing the Generations Family Health Center to operate a grant-funded center inside the town’s high school that would have offered behavior health services to students via licensed therapists.
The center proposal, introduced last year with the full support of Superintendent Robert Angeli, came the same year the stunning results of a mental health survey were presented to the board.
The survey of 449 Killingly students, conducted by the Southeastern Regional Action Council, or SERAC, found 28% of responders reported thoughts of self-harm and 14.7% seriously considered attempting suicide.
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The report notes both Ferron and Joly “in the most glaring example of the board’s disinclination to provide mental health services” were dismissive of the findings and either questioned the students’ honesty or the numerical significance of those polled.
Joly at one point during the center discussions suggested other options other than Generations should be explored – a sentiment echoed by Ferron.
What else did state investigators find?
Investigators said the Killingly board made no attempt to find an equivalent alternative and there was “no evidence that it sought to increase its staff or school psychologists, social workers or school counselors.”
“Given the alarming nature of these survey results, one might reasonably expect they would have been considered revelatory,” the report states. “They were not.”
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Opponents of the center repeatedly raised the issue of “parental rights” and in their arguments. Board members frequently brought up scenarios in which students would avail themselves of the center’s services without parental consent.
Investigators determined that argument lacked foundation and noted “parental consent was a touchstone of the proposed mental health services.” The state said the board’s stance on parental consent was at odds with some of the hypothetical center alternatives later proposed, including telehealth services or busing Killingly students to Putnam where Generations oversees the same type of center rejected in Killingly.
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It wasn’t until August that the board approved a so-called alternative to the center. The Rachel’s Challenge program, pushed by Muscara, is an anti-bullying program named for a student victim of the Columbine High School massacre.
But the September seminars, held at both Killingly High School and Middle School and included audio of actual gunshots fired at Columbine students, left several students “hysterically crying.”
“It created more trauma for our students and faculty, many who were upset after,” according one of several social media statements referenced by investigators.
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Killingly’s credibility and a key statement
The report also references an August board meeting held months after the complaint investigation began in which Ferron and Martin state their legal counsel previously advised them not to implement any center alternatives as doing so could be construed as an admission of failure to implement the state’s educational interests.
“This is a significant statement; if true, it would constitute an admission by the Killingly Board that of April 5, 2022, it had intentionally decided against taking any steps to address what its own administration considered ‘an unprecedented level of stress on both students and administration…,’” the report states.
But investigators questioned the truthfulness of Ferron and Martin’s assertion, noting a May 3 response filing by the board’s lawyers asserts the complaint was premature as the board was taken steps to address student mental health issues.
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Under oath, Angeli stated the board on two occasions in April – after the complaint was filed – asked him to gather alternative center proposals.
If the May 3 response and Angeli’s affidavit were accurate, investigators said one would be “hard-pressed” not to conclude Ferron and Martin’s uncorroborated statements to the state Department of Education regarding its lawyer’s advice were “patently false.”
“In either event, each alternative calls Killingly’s credibility into question,” the report states.
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Investigators stated – in bold text – there had been at least 11 board meetings since the complaint was filed and 18 since the mental health survey’s results were presented.
“Yet none of them have resulted in the adoption or implementation of any meaningful substantive interventions” to address student needs,” the report states.
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The report also noted a lack of school psychologists, guidance counselors and social workers in the district; chronic student absenteeism throughout all its schools; and test scores below the statewide average.
The department’s report – and its recommendation that an inquiry be opened in the matter by a hearing panel – will be discussed by the state Board of Education on Wednesday.
What does it mean if the state opens an inquiry into Killingly?
Such an inquiry, overseen by some or all the state board members, would be conducted similarly to a trial with witnesses testifying and cross-examined, and exhibits and other evidence presented.
Attorney Andrew Feinstein, who represents the complainants, said such an “unprecedented” undertaking would represent an “enormous use of resources better used to educate children.”
“The remedies that can be imposed from that proceeding can be broad, up to the state taking over the board,” he said on Tuesday.
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Feinstein said the Killingly board could instead “come its senses” and opt to agree to a milder remediation solution by implementing meaningful programming that would address student mental health needs.
“But I understand the state has been trying to work with the Killingly board and those efforts haven’t been successful,” he said.
Angeli and the board’s lawyer, Deborah Stevenson, could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.
