Flatley: 'No preferential treatment'

Attempting to clear the air on a special education controversy she says cost her a School Committee seat, Joanne Flatley said yesterday "there was no preferential treatment" when her child was provided in-home services in December and January.

During that period, two special education teachers left Dedham Middle School - the first teacher for about nine days, followed by the second - to provide two hours of home tutoring for the student most days per week. Many middle school teachers questioned whether the reassignments caused a lapse in special education services for students in affected classrooms.

In a statement, Flatley said that after she "became the object of accusation, rumor and innuendo regarding alleged improper benefits afforded my family in the Dedham public schools system," she "self-identified" to the State Ethics Commission in March "for a full investigation, to begin to clear my name of any wrongdoing and possible conflict of interest."

In an interview, Flatley said she was anonymously accused of getting "preferential treatment for my family in return for a positive result on the superintendent's contract." When that belief seemed to spread widely, she decided the best move - not wanting to harm her family's privacy - was to go to the Ethics Commission for a clear finding, she said.

Superintendent June Doe signed a three-year contract extension with the School Committee in late January, after contract negotiations were delayed by a serious illness in Doe's family.

Flatley highlighted special investigator Katherine Gallant's determination "that the matter does not require presentation to the (Ethics) Commission for official action. This decision is based on our understanding that the superintendent was not involved in the issue affecting your child," Gallant wrote in her letter, dated April 27.

"It is important to me that the public knows, and fully understands, that as an elected official in Dedham I have always conducted myself with the highest standard of ethics," Flatley said in her statement.

In the interview, Flatley insisted she did nothing wrong, nor did she seek special treatment, in getting teachers to come out to her house and work with her child.

"My role on the School Committee had no bearing. I didn't pick up the phone when this happened and say 'I'd like teacher X,"' she said.

Flatley did not speak publicly on the issue before the April 11 town election, in which the 46-year-old lost her bid for a second term on the School Committee.

Flatley said yesterday her role as a parent came first, that "as a family we have carefully guarded our children's privacy," and that her kids did not want her to speak publicly.

"I made the decision not to go forward for my family," she said. "Do I think it cost me the election? I do."

She said her child's "in-home services" - the proper term under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - concluded at the end of January, and the child returned to school on Feb. 1.

"So this was, as far as my family was concerned, over. This was a situation that needed to be dealt with but was handled privately, and then back to school and things had settled down, and on Feb. 9 it hit the blog," Flatley said, referring to the first myDedham.org posting about the controversy. "So I did not know who to respond to. And I also felt that it was not that person's business, whoever that person was, because the people that needed to know already knew."

While there has been criticism of school leaders for hiding behind confidentiality, Flatley said, "It is a confidentiality issue, it really is" - and not just for special education students.

School Committee Chairman David Roberts said the administration is dedicated to maintaining the confidentiality. "The School Department has not received any (formal) complaints from any of the parents, and to my knowledge we have not received any grievance action from any of the faculty involved," Roberts said of the controversy.

Flatley said she plans to continue to serve as co-chairwoman for the next year of the Dedham Special Education Parents Advisory Council. She has been active in the group for five years, trying to raise awareness in the community about disabilities and educate parents.

Flatley is concerned that the issue involving her child, "and the attention it has received, will seriously affect people that would consider running for public office, especially parents."

She said she is making the Ethics Commission's finding public now to help the school district move forward.

"This decision, this process, went by the book," Flatley said, "and the accusation is very detrimental to the system as a whole. And that's very upsetting to me, because I feel like we've made a lot of progress, and I don't want to put that at risk."

Daily News staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.