Shawnee Mission superintendent names interim leader for beleaguered special ed department

Unsatisfied with the pool of candidates to become director of the troubled special education department in the Shawnee Mission School District, new superintendent Michael Fulton has tapped a current administrator for the interim.

Christy Ziegler, assistant superintendent of innovation and performance, will take on the special ed job immediately, Fulton announced in a message sent to parents Monday.

“After an intensive search process, the district was unable to identify the right candidate to assume the Director of Special Education position,” Fulton said.

He said the appointment would “ensure the on-going quality management of the Special Education department for the 2018-19 school year.

“Dr. Ziegler, who has a Ph.D in Special Education, brings fifteen years of district level leadership to this role, and I am confident that she brings the vision, passion and wisdom that this role needs.”

The district began a search for a new special education leader in May, when Jackie Chatman announced she wished to step down from her director position so that Fulton could choose his own leader for the department.

Concerns and complaints about morale, best practices and compliance with state and federal laws had surfaced in recent years under her leadership.

Parents had begun to speak at board meetings about poor communication and questionable practices stemming from leadership. As special education coordinators and staff left for jobs in other districts, some began to sound the alarm about turnover in the department.

A state probe following a parent complaint found the district has failed to provide services for a few dozen students in the district.

“I knew based on my age and my years of experience I wasn’t going to be around much longer,” Chatman told The Star last month. “I really felt like we needed to be sure we had a good transition year.”

Chatman, who was hired by former superintendent Jim Hinson in 2014 after working in special education departments in Missouri, intends to retire at the end of the 2018-19 school year. She will serve in an assistant director role until her retirement.

The district plans to conduct a national search starting in late fall, Fulton said.

This story was originally published July 24, 2018 at 10:47 AM.