The town’s top special education official has resigned — days after a parent threatened legal action against her.
Christine Smith, Plymouth Public Schools’ director of special education since July, quit in early February, after just seven months on the job, according to town records.
Her resignation came less than two weeks after a parent alleged Smith “surreptitiously showed up” at her 9-year-old child’s pediatrician’s office and demanded medical information, according to a letter reviewed by the Independent.
Smith was allegedly challenging the doctor’s recommendation for the student’s educational services.
The parent, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her child, who has disabilities, cited a pattern of ongoing issues starting in September, though only the Jan. 31 doctor’s office visit was detailed in the cease-and-desist letter, which the parent sent after the incident.
In the letter, the parent warned Smith not to contact the doctor’s office, the child, or the parent and “immediately stop all harassment activities toward my family, directly or indirectly, as they are being done in violation of the law.”
“You risk incurring swift and severe legal consequences if you fail to comply with this demand,” the letter concluded.
The letter was delivered to Smith’s Foxborough home on Feb. 8 by Norfolk County sheriff’s office deputy, records show.
Smith, reached by phone, declined to comment.
School superintendent Christopher Campbell, and school business administrator Adam Blaisdell, also declined comment, but confirmed that Smith no longer works for the public school system.
Stacey Rogers, assistant superintendent for administration and instruction, will assume Smith’s duties “for the time being,” Campbell said. Rogers was the special education director before 2020.
Contacted by the Independent, the parent who sent the cease-and-desist letter declined to comment except to say she appreciates that school officials “investigated the matter and took her concerns seriously.”
Smith started working in Plymouth on July 1 under a three-year contract that would have paid her $140,000 annually plus benefits, including 25 days of paid vacation and possible annual performance bonuses of $2,000.
She could also seek reimbursement for using her own car on school business — up to $3,000 a year.
When she resigned, she was entitled to a payout of her unused vacation days, school officials said.
In September, she appeared before the school committee, laying out her plans to improve special education in town. Among other things, she said she wanted to make sure the district took advantage of all available state funding and complied with the stringent rules and regulations governing special education programs.
Committee members welcomed Smith and praised her for presenting detailed plans for the department.
The Wheelock College graduate, who reported having a 3.8 GPA, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees, previously worked in special education departments across the state, according to her resume.
She held positions in Boston, the Wachusett regional school system, Sharon, Dover-Sherborn, the Lakeville-Freetown regional school district, Norwood, and Griswold, Conn.
In references attached to her resume, two former Wachusett school district colleagues praised Smith.
In a 2021 letter, then Wachusett Regional School District deputy superintendent Robert Berlo said Smith had “distinguished herself as a hardworking, intelligent, and resourceful professional who is able to juggle multiple responsibilities at the same time.”
“She has a deep understanding of special education law and programs, the budget process but more importantly is a person who truly cares about students,” he wrote.
To be hired for the Plymouth job, a candidate was required to meet certain criteria — including holding a master’s degree in special education and a state certification. The applicant was also required to have at least five years’ experience in the field.
The successful candidate also needed to possess less concrete qualities such as a “sense of humor,” and “a proven ability to relate to a variety of constituencies including but not limited to administrators, parents, teachers, other human service agencies and school committee members.”
But some parents said privately that Smith did not work well with them and could be confrontational and abrasive.
When a group of parents of children with autism, upset about a shortage of teachers, met with her a week before the start of the 2024-2025 school year, she scolded them, saying they had no right to be angry, according to one of the parents.
“Her demeanor and words were aggressive, and she seemed annoyed that she was there,” the parent said.
“We were all horrified. We were all scared to send our children to school. It was awful.”
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.