Father said his daughter's classroom frequently has had to be evacuated.
LUDLOW – The father of a student at Chapin Street Elementary School Tuesday night called for School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane’s resignation because he said she failed to address his concerns about his daughter’s safety in her classroom at Chapin Street Elementary School.
Paul Henry said his daughter’s classroom at Chapin Street Elementary School has repeatedly had to be evacuated due to the violent actions of another student.
He said his attempts to get the school administration including the school superintendent to address his safety concerns have met with failure for the past four years.
Kane said at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting that every classroom in the school district is monitored carefully for safety.
She added that if Henry is making charges of bullying by another student, there are forms which he should fill out and a follow-up investigation will be done by the school principal.
Matters which involve school personnel and other students cannot be discussed in an open session, she said.
Before the meeting started, School Committee Chairman James P. Harrington said that no complaints about personnel could be raised in an open School Committee session.
Henry must take his complaints through administrative channels, he said.
Henry accused school officials of using “legal mumbo jumbo” to prevent him from explaining his safety concerns at the School Committee meeting.
He accused school officials of giving him the run-around. “So I can’t speak at a public meeting?” he asked. “I should have been informed of this earlier. This is ridiculous.”
He then walked out of the meeting.
Claire Thompson, legal counsel for the School Committee, followed Henry out of the meeting to give him bullying reporting forms, but he had left the building through the front door.