On October 11 at a county-wide candidate forum for the upcoming Board of Education election, Dawn Pulliam made the following comment:
“I do not think special ed is a 911 in our county. … I don’t believe, personally, that is a priority at all,” said Pulliam. “I do think that there are things we can do, go back to other models that we’ve done before and work hand and hand with the special ed and mental health professionals in our community, a public-private partnership.”
In response, the Board of Directors of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County and the Parental Alliance for Student Safety (PASS) released the following statement:
“It is clear that candidate Dawn Pulliam has not spent time in AACPS schools if she believes special education is not a priority in Anne Arundel County.
“From overwhelming federally mandated paperwork and rising caseload numbers due to vacancies and understaffing to violent behaviors that disrupt the learning environment and lead to unsafe conditions, special educators have been calling out for help and desperately need the support of Board of Education members.
“When the school system can’t meet the needs of students who need special education services, they are failing all students. Addressing high caseloads and vacancies in special education is an issue everyone should be concerned about. And we can’t have Board of Education members who don’t understand this.
“Pulliam has clearly not been listening to the concerns of the professionals who support our special education students, and as such, she should not represent them in District 7. Educators, students, and their families cannot afford to have someone sitting on the Board who is out of tune with the crisis that is special education right now. Students, educators, & parents deserve someone who will advocate not only for the continuation of but more importantly for an increase in funding for special education.
“This is why we–the educators of TAAAC and the parents and public school advocates of PASS–wholeheartedly endorse Jeremy York for the District 7 Board of Education seat. York has made it a priority from the outset of his campaign to ensure special education students receive more resources and appropriate assistance to allow them to become lifelong learners. As advocates, we will continue to work for the increased funding needed to ensure we have the adequate staffing and reasonable workloads our special education staff require in order to best meet the needs of our students who require special education services.”
###
