SMMUSD Board Fires Deputy Supervisor in
Charge of Special Ed Despite Protests
A standing-room-only crowd packed the
Malibu City Council Chambers at the May 1 Santa Monica Malibu
Unified School District board meeting. Teachers, parents
and students had come en mass to speak out for the
district’s embattled special education program and
to defend Tim Walker, the deputy superintendent who managed the
district’s special education services.
Board president Oscar de la Torre
announced at the start of the public session that a
settlement agreement of $193,000 had been reached on a vote of
six in favor and one abstention. Walker’s name was
not mentioned, but word that Walker had been terminated as
a result of the recently published Lou Barber report
on special education in the district had already spread
before the meeting began.
Walker was not present. He is alleged to
have been instructed not to appear, but he did not lack
defenders. For over an hour speakers from Malibu schools
and Franklin Elementary in Santa Monica argued passionately in
his defense.
The common theme running through the public
comments was the feeling that the Barber report was incomplete.
Parents and teachers complained that negative experiences of
Santa Monica parents were taken into account but positive
experiences of Malibu parents and those from Franklin
had not been included.
A lengthy standing ovation followed the
presentation of the first speaker from the opposition,
prompting board Vice President Jose Escarce to try to
curtail applause. His request was ignored.
“Our department has been falsely
represented by the Barber report, as well as members of the
community,” said Franklin Elementary School special
day class teacher Nathan Garden, who called Walker the
“backbone of the special education department,” who
“continually moves us in the right direction.”
Garden stated that, “It is important that we have
the chance to make our voices be heard before our skill level
and our devotion to children and our commitment is further
questioned. In our professional capacity each of us is more
than just a teacher.”
Danny Sills, a sixth grader, and the son of
Malibu resident and special education activist Laureen
Sills, said “I don’t know why everyone is
mad.” His mother discussed how she felt when she signed
her son’s Individualized Education Plan agreement.
“I could have signed that contract with a pen that
sang,” she said. Adding that she hated to see the board
use Walker as a scapegoat.
Rex Lewis-Clark, 12, stated that “In
my special education class I learned so many things. I’ve
learned ‘cannot do’ is not acceptable.” His
mother, Cathleen Lewis-Clark, said that with her son, who
is blind and has learning disabilities, but who also has a
tremendous gift for music, “it’s not about thinking
out of the box, it’s about throwing the box away.”
And that in Malibu’s special education programs
“all his needs were met.” “The support he has
gotten allows me to send Rex out without worrying. With peace
of mind,” she said. Rex’s story has been so
successful that mother and son have become professional
speakers and their experiences have been profiled on 60
Minutes.
Tiana Fazio, another Malibu student,
explained that she has had “a great experience in Malibu.
I know I will do even better.” Her mother, Teresa
Fazio, spoke in angry defense of Walker. “If
you think by firing Tim Walker all your problems will be
solved, you’re going to be very disappointed,” she
said.
Franklin Psychologist Meredith Abrams,
speaking on behalf of the staff psychologists, summed up the
concerns expressed by all of the speakers by saying that
special education had been “misrepresented by the Barber
report.” She demanded “a kid-first focus, and
increased staff moral.”
Because the matter was not on the agenda,
board members were limited to individual comments and were
unable to discuss the matter without violating the Brown Act.
This led to angry comments from the audience. One woman
shouted that the board’s action was
comparable to that of George W. Bush in the cover-up over the
lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Boardmember Kathy Wisnicki stated that
parents have approached her to ask why their positive comments
were not included in the Barber report. Boardmember
Ralph Mechur pointed out that “The report
didn’t say everything was wrong, far from it,” and
that audits “exist to point out the problems.” de
la Torre’s statement that “The board is here to
listen,” was met with an angry cry of "then you
haven't been listening at all,” from the audience.
And that was the feeling of the teachers
and parents after the comment period ended. “They
aren’t listening to us. We aren’t being
heard.” A view that echoes that of the Santa Monica
parents who spoke from the other side of the issue at the
recent Santa Monica City Council meeting.
