Several parents of students with special needs came before the Finance Committee on April 25 to ask about legal fees the school department is budgeting for lawsuits involving special education. Pam Domos and Joanne Zimmer both have been involved in lawsuits with the town that they said have been costly and emotionally draining. Domos asked why the town would pay more to fight her child s placement at Cardinal Cushing in Hanover than the cost of tuition. She said the town failed in its challenge when the Massachusetts Department of Education Bureau of Special Education Appeals ruled in her favor. Harwich School Superintendent Joseph Gilbert said he would not comment on cases that had come under litigation.
Special education is confidential.
It involves a team of professionals working with individual students and making a recommendation for the students and placements. He said that a little more than 17 percent of the town s education budget goes toward special education. Zimmer, whose son has Down Syndrome, said she became so stressed by the legal suit and intimidation she felt from school officials that she had health problems that resulted in heart surgery. Her son is now staying with her husband in another town. Both Domos and Zimmer complained that the legal process was dragged on by Harwich attorney with many meetings before the DOE unexpectedly canceled.