ORANGE — They want solutions, and they want their concerns heard.
That was the feeling among the parents and teachers who filled the cafeteria of Fisher Hill Elementary School on Wednesday for a public forum to discuss recent disruptions at the school, including frequent evacuations of kindergarten and first-grade classrooms because of unruly students throwing chairs, physically and verbally attacking teachers and stabbing classmates with pencils.
The topic of certain educators and Principal Maureen Donelan being placed on paid leave was also brought up, although school officials have not officially connected the absences to the behavioral problems from students.
And Wednesday, Superintendent Tari Thomas and the School Committee — who posted the forum as an official meeting — listened for nearly two hours to complaints and proposals, with members of the education consultancy Collaborative for Educational Services recording and writing down what was said, in order to share the data with officials.
“My biggest concern at Fisher Hill right now would be the disruptions in the classroom and the school buses,” said parent Kristie Woodard.
Woodard, like others, expressed dismay at the idea of classrooms of 20 or more students being evacuated to other parts of the building, like the library, because of one child acting out.
“The stories that come home, between the classroom and the school bus, are out of control,” Woodard said. “What’s going on here is not working.”
Jennifer Whitney, a grandmother of a kindergartner at the school, said the child causing trouble should be removed from the classroom, “rather than taking 18 children out of the classroom every time.”
No number of evacuations has been given, but parents have claimed there have been more than 10, while the superintendent and teachers have described them as “frequent.”
Besides violent behavior, other behavioral issues brought up included children fleeing the school — at least one of these incidents prompted a police response — and telling teachers they could have them fired.
Danielle Anderson identified herself as a parent of one of the children with behavioral problems, and said that there is not enough staff to control the students.
“They’re doing the best they can with what they have, and it’s just not enough,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she has decided to volunteer at the school, essentially becoming her child’s “one-on-one” counselor.
This year, the kindergarten at Fisher Hill lost one of its sections, becoming a three-classroom grade. Teachers like Jackie Graziano have said administrators were warned that the cuts would pose problems as far as controlling misbehaving students.
As superintendent, Thomas has recently added back a fourth kindergarten classroom, to be paid for with a previously unexpected $50,000 rural aid money from the state.
This year, the town of Orange increased its budget to about $20.1 million — a modest increase from last year’s $19.6 million. But facing increasing costs, especially for education, as well as near-stagnant economic growth, the increase still meant the town would see cuts to services. Every department in town except for the schools saw a 5 percent cut from the operating budgets they originally asked for in the 2019 fiscal year. The schools saw cuts to services too, with Fisher Hill’s reduction of classes an example.
Finance Committee Chairman Keith LaRiviere addressed the crowd after several complained that the cuts at the school were related to the recent issues.
“The budget process is a zero-sum game,” LaRiviere said. “If you put money somewhere to fund something that you think is important and necessary, the hard truth is it has to be taken away from somewhere else.”
LaRiviere said education makes up roughly 55 percent of the town’s budget, and that “we don’t, as a town, have money to spare.” He added that people should consider seriously whether or not they would be willing to pay more in taxes.
Another issue brought up was the fact that Principal Donelan and a few other staffers are still on paid leave, despite being cleared of allegations of neglect and physical abuse against children by the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families.
Several asked for them to be brought back in, and said things were better with Donelan in charge. Previously, a majority of the Fisher Hill staff signed a letter of support for Donelan during the investigation.
“They’re being paid on leave,” said Glenn Skorb. “Bring them in and let them earn their money.”
Selectboard member Tom Smith, identifying himself as a bus driver for the school, said interim Principal Patti Byrnes is costing the town $345 per day, calling it a “financial concern.”
Two other investigations are ongoing, an internal investigation and an investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and Conrod has indicated the staff on leave would not be back until those are complete.
School Committee Chairwoman Stephanie Conrod told the crowd that no answers to the problems could be given immediately. On Nov. 19, a School Committee meeting was attended by about 30 people who voiced their concerns, but the School Committee could not deliberate then because the topic of disruptions was not a part of the posted agenda. Wednesday’s meeting was the opportunity to hear those complaints in a more official capacity.
“I’m not happy about this either,” Conrod addressed the crowd. “I realize that a lot of our answers are not to the satisfaction of a lot of people.”
Conrod said the School Committee would deliberate on the concerns brought up on Wednesday during a private executive session to be scheduled this month. Then, the School Committee should have some answers for the public at its January meeting.
“Some of this involves the budget, some of it involves staffing and some of it involves the legalities that we cannot release right now,” Conrod said of the decision to hold the School Committee’s next meeting in private. “My solution would be to start holding the children responsible and their parents responsible.”
Conrod added that the School Committee understands people want immediate answers, and that they would not “let it drag on” further than January when coming up with solutions.
Conrod also implored the public to attend School Committee meetings as often as possible to lend insight to the decision-making process.
“It’s very demoralizing and painful when people come to our meetings and you’re hurt and you’re angry, and I hear that,” Conrod said.
Thomas spoke to the crowd last, and was optimistic.
“This has been extremely heartwarming,” Thomas said. “What a community.”
Thomas addressed concerns about communication. Several parents, like Sara Lyman, said they have heard “all kinds of stories,” about what’s happening, but not much from the school.
Thomas said she has been utilizing social media, like Twitter, along with the traditional email as ways to get official statements to the public.
“We’re going to take this very seriously,” Thomas said. “I’ve learned that I have to use a lot of different channels to communicate, not just one or two.”
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or