I find it disheartening that Mr. Tyler would reach out to Patch to discuss his concerns before consulting with his committee. Having never missed watching a school committee meeting I can say this was no different than many others since Mr. Tyler took the reins. Parents have stood at that podium in support of the administration and have spoken out against many members of the committee and it was allowed. Is it because they supported the administration or the personal beliefs of the person holding the gavel? This is a bad approach Mr. Tyler. My brother has a special education child in this district and that area is truly lacking. I believe our district has the highest litigation claims against it for not providing mandated services. Is this acceptable to you, Mr. Tyler? If a parent complains to administration and nothing is done, are they not allowed to complain to the School Committee? Isn't this YOUR JOB?? Why is it the fault of the vice chairperson? What gives you the right to criticize how she conducted the meeting as long as Roberts Rules of Order were followed? From a viewer standpoint, the meeting went just fine. Just because you don't like her style or you don’t agree with her on other issues, doesn't give you authority to dictate how she conducts a meeting when the proper rules are followed. Isn't that her job in your absence? Or is it that Mr. Murphy may have been offended by a parent? If he wants to be an elected official he needs to toughen up.

Thank you My Tyler! Unfortunately the parent's real message got lost amongst the unnecessary attacks. You need to bring civility back to this board. It was very obvious what was happening and they took advantage of your absence.

The meeting on Monday night was an unfortunate scene and it was a reminder of negative meetings from the past. Mr. Tyler has improved at maintaining a level of decorum and professionalism in the meetings. At the superintendent search focus group that I attended, Mr. Tyler responded to a citizen's concern about the committee's conduct and reinforced his belief that no publicity is good publicity. Since the debacle in May and Mr. Tyler's recognition of how such behavior affects the Committee and the Community, negative conduct in this group has been scarce. I am glad to hear that it is going to be addressed.

My biggest concern with the meeting was that at one point, three members were yelling at one member. The fact that it was a frivolous and ridiculous argument to begin with is one thing. But it was disappointing to hear three elected officials behaving like that in their meeting.

My second biggest concern after watching the meeting was the discussion related to replacing the School Committee's legal counsel. From what I gathered, there was a motion to start such a search on the same night as the infamous executive session about the Superintendent search. I don't remember seeing anything about it. How and why did this motion come about? I wanted to ask in the forum on the initial article about tonight's meeting, but the comments got shut down because of some suspicious posting. (Thank you for that Jonathan.)

As a parent, I would have liked to have been told that Mr. Murphy was holding a focus group at that early childhood facility. In all fairness, members should not be holding meetings or focus groups without approval of the committee, not just Mr. Tyler, he is not the committee, just the chairperson. I'm not picking sides but if I knew it was a focus group I would have been there since I missed the others that were offered. I do think Mr. Murphy has taken a lot of liberties as a school committee member that he shouldn't be taking and this is an example. If Ms. Furtado of Mrs. Craw did that I'm sure the the "buzz" would be different right now. People would be up in arms about it saying they had no right! Again, let's be fair.

My point Ronda is that everyone is talking about the behavoir that night and not the fact that the district is understaffed for speech therapy. I think we are in agreement.
As for Murphy setting up meetings. He did not schedule THAT meeting. He was invited to it to give a brief update. It WAS NOT a focus group. All the focus group meetings were scheduled in advance. To be called out for this in such a way (referring to it as a back door mtg) by Ms Craw was somewhat surprising given that she did not attend ONE SINGLE FOCUS MEETING! NOT ONE! I think we will see all the good work that he did tonight. I'm am in full agreement with you. I want the issues dealt with but the problem is that committee member's behavoir and personal vendetas are getting in the way and our children will be the victims. It was uncomfortable to watch.

JD, Mr. Murphy himself acknowledged that it turned into a focus group. Without splitting hairs my point is that if every member discussed things in group settings without prior approval of the school committee it would cause more problems. It is not relevant whether it went well or not. It is the point that he is taking liberties he shouldn't be taking. No, Rob, this night was NOT approved as a meeting, it's not on the list I saw. My concern is that things just aren't equal and everyone seems to have to pick a "side". The true focus is the kids, the services and lack of services they are getting. I'm very upset that we have so many lawsuits against us as a city for special ed. It's not just speech therepy JD, and don't dismiss it as if it's not important. How would you feel if your child wasn't receiving services they are legally entitled to? You'd be upset also. I can feel for that woman at the podium.

what the heck was Barbara Craw up to?? I was SO offended by her attacks. She needs to be voted off the SC asap. She's a menace. When she was running she came down my long street and we talked. She seemed so earnest that I voted for her. Why is she ridding this hobby horse and attacking another member of the committee. This is SO wrong and wrong headed that it amounts to a vendetta.

I watched that meeting and for Mr. Murphy to make the comments he did to her was unbelievable ... And then for Mr. Tyler to make those comments to the press is even more unbelievable .... I have a special Ed student in this school system and I am more than disgusted with the way things are done this system should be embarrassed about the way that these kids are treated and taught .... So Thank you to Jen crowder for being the one to stand up and open her mouth and open people's eyes to what is going on .... I will make sure that the next time there is something to be said I will be standing right behind her and every other parent that has to deal with all of this I hope they will be there too

Perhaps the members of the school committee should spend a day at Willett Elementary School and learn the Willett Way.

"Safe and Secure. Respectful and Responsible. Positive and Productive. Kind and Courteous."

The children would not be allowed to bicker and pick at one another in this manner. Shouldn't the adults that are in charge of their education have to follow the same rules? If teachers acted this way in the schools they would be fired.

I am so sick of all this drama. Get along for the sake of the children, you are there for them not to further any political agenda's. Do the job you were elected to do and forget your ego's especially when you're on television.

Let's go the Willett way and ignore what Mr. Murphy did at that meeting. He sent an email to other members asking them to stop Ms. Craw from helping special education students. He tried to form an alliance with other committee members against Ms. Craw. He did not even care about the Speech issue at Willett School. Mr. Murphy got upset because he was called out on not doing what was best for the children involved. Now his fan club is trying to make this look like Furtado and Craw are to blame. Even Ken Parent had to Davey boy in his place. If he was invited to a meeting and it was not a focus group, he does not have the right to take it upon himself to represent the school committee at a meeting they did not know about. This is starting to remind me of the Ray DiCaccio days with the 'back door" meetings. Mr. Murphy again is the reason for this chaos and no matter what his buddies say - he again is not doing his job and is trying to cover it up. Help these children Mr. Murphy do not try to stop their services. Leave other committee members alone. If you spent as much time on the issues as you do whinning, maybe parents would respect you and you would actually do something to help the community.

I watched the meeting Monday night. I have not missed a meeting yet. David Murphy was rude and his behavior was unacceptable. Members Furtado, Craw and Parent had to raise their voices just to get a work in edge wise. His attitude and behavior was unacceptable. Even if Furtado, Craw and Parent got loud they were still respectful. Mr. Murphy was out of control. As one member said they are a committee or 9 not 1 or 2. Mr. Murphy and Mr. Tyler need to remember this. If I was Ms. Craw, I would be talking to the chair about David Murphy trying to get fellow committee members to gang up against her. What a shameful tactic. Why does Mr. Murphy always cause problems between school committee members and try to make others look bad in the public eye. He needs to learn how to cooperate with others and not cause problems.

Parent, Craw and Furtado have been fair and respectable. They stand up of the children and the district. Just because Dave Murphy got caught sending an inappropriate email, he should not attack certain members. Just because certain members won't join with him to team up against other members, he should not attack them. Put blame where blame is do. David Murphy has dragged this school committee through the mud since day one. He lied about residency to get elected. He caused bad press regarding the Superintendent search (which was discussed as we can see today, or maybe the focus groups are just a dream) and now he is trying to derail members from helping special education children. Leave the committee members alone who are working to help our schools. Contact Murphy and let him know that his actions are despicable and he should be removed from his seat on the school committee. Isn't he sick of lying and trying to deceit the public.

Thank you Ms. Craw for letting the public know about Mr. Murphy's sneaky antics and how he is only on the committee to cause problems. Secret meetings, shameful emails. Why does this man want to sabotage the school committee? Ms. Furtado did an excellent job as chair at this meeting. She let a community member speak. The community member did not degrade or attack anyone. This is the purpose of open forum: to let the public express their concerns. Just because Mr. Murphy did not like the content or the speaker, he should not try to blame other members for his mistakes. Again I hear the "sisters" are at it again. It is funny that even Ken Parent also disagreed with Murphy. So why does David Murphy always go at the Furtado and Craw? It is certainly clear that he has a personal agenda against these two ladies and unfortunately puts this above the reason he was elected - to help the district. The public should be aware of the issues and Mr. Murphy should not try to hide or cover up his total disregard for the the students in our school system.

Mr. Murphy is disgraceful. He has certainly proved that he will stop at nothing to defame outstanding members of the community. Stop the temper tantrums Mr. Murphy. Other members were getting along and working together and here you go again trying to get everyone to choose sides and stop progress. I actually feel that this committee would be one of the best that Attleboro has seen if you weren't not on it. Mr. Murphy you need to stop being the problem and start helping to find a resolution. You really have been deceptive to the people who voted for you. Stop the lies and trying to hurt other committee members.

I think it is a shame that people are not looking at the real issue here. David Murphy tried to thwart a fellow member from helping Special Education students. From what was divulged Monday night, the issue still isn't resolved. Murphy needs to reprimanded and this issue needs to be taken care of immediately. Mr. Murphy should not be able to wiggle his way out of this one by turning on someone else. He sure is good at doing that. How does this man sleep at night. And Mr. Tyler, watch the meeting and help this parent don't stand up for someone just because he intimidates you. Also, Mr. Tyler it seems you were aware of Mr. Murphy's disgraceful antics and the Special Education issues at Willett and did not act on either. Please explain yourself to the public. What do you Mr. Tyler and Mr. Murphy have up your sleeves? Please do not take personal vendettas out on our children...they certainly do not deserve this.

Many of the people commenting above need to take a deep breath and debate with more civility—without name-calling and the use of unproductive adjectives. Also, comments accusing others of secretly being behind user names will be deleted. If you suspect this is happening, then take it up with that person, do not speculate about it here. As always, you are encouraged to use your real name. It makes your arguments much stronger. If you disagree with me about that, then email me your opinion. Do not write about it here.

Mr. Murphy you certainly fooled the voters of Attleboro when you ran for office. You have been petty, deceitful and the cause of controversy on the school committee. Lets go even further.....you lied about residency and now you have been caught red handed ignoring issues in the are of Special Education in our schools. Lets all remember that not one school in our district was proficient in their MCAS scores. Such a shame and now this issue that Mr. Murphy feels needs to be disregarded. Instead he would rather attack fellow committee members. All I have to say is I would like to thank the cable guy, his sister, the guy at the gas station and the cash register he uses and let's not forget to give a well deserved thanks for the pigeon who spat on more car because this took alot of time and effort and that pigeon deserves everyone's thanks.....whatever!!! and anyone who watches the meetings knows exactly what I mean. As for Mr. Tyler he knew about the Special Education issue and the email sent by Murphy and he did not act on either. Mr. Tyler you should not be so intimidated by Mr. Murphy and do what is best to help the children of the district. Mr. Tyler you have done a disservice to the Special Education students in Attleboro and you need to help correct his right away. Mr. Murphy you should just go away (quietly please) and leave the other members on the committee alone.

Mr Parent,
Let's see if the SC can actually focus on the mission of finding a new Superintended tonight.The proof will be in committee actions tonight. We will know 10 minutes into the process. Also, I am happy to hear that you attended a few of the focus meetings. I do not have the attendance records of the meetings. It's a small city Mr Parent, not hard to find out who attended what meetings nor should it be. I look forward to this process. This will be one of the most important decisions this committee will make and I feel the process put in place was/is the right one to date. It's extremely frustrating for the public to watch and observe the actions and behavoir of your(our) committee. One get's the feeling that there are members always ready to pounce with a "gotcha" moment. All to blame IMO. In the end the body of work is the result of the efforts of the committee as a whole. The communication issues are often prevented when the rules a clearly outlined beforehand. Maybe someday we can all talk about the issues and not the squabbles within the committee. Tonight is a new night. God Bless...

@reason who are you referring to I thought the mothers name was Jen crowder .... That was not a nice thing to say either ... She is doing something for all special Ed parents obviously you don't know what she said or was there for on Monday

As the title of this article states this WHOLE TOPIC is out of hand.

The Dynamic duo if Craw and Fertado need to be silenced. Unfortunatly they are going to ruin any prospect of Attleboro hiring a "good" superintendent the second they open thier mouths. Ken PArent , as nice as he is, needs to pick a side. YES I SAID IT! There are sides on the SC!! Barbara and Brenda on on the side of THIER children, and thier children only (not yours or mine) no matter how mant time they say they are! They were elected to get rid of Pia, well done Ladies, mission accomplished . Now go away. The only thing you are good at is destroying relationships, NOT listening to your constituants unless is suits your new cause (Well, you do listen to Jen Crowder, or does she just do your bidding?). I know, I have tried to talk to both of you, and couldnt get a word in edgewise.

Good luck Mike and Dave. You have your work cut out for you. Dont set your expectations to high. Barbara and Brenda will do thier best to destroy any hopes you have of successfully hiring a great superintendent. Besides why would ANYONE want to work with them?

Well when.is it suppose to be brought up no one will listen .... i have a special ed child and just once i wish they would listen if ur gonna use special ed for a platform to win then special ed should be your top priority i dont see it as attacking him if you read all the comments she just seems to be the only one who will call him out .....

Sarah did you even watch the meeting Monday night. Dave Murphy tried to recruit Mr. Oneil and Mr Larson to do his dirty work. Let me key you in on what happened at the meeting. Ms. Craw stood up for Special Ed students, not just Ms. Crowder, but many students who were not getting their speech therapy. So your claim that Mrs. Craw only cares about her child is null and void. Get your facts straight before you speak. The last I new, Ms. Craw's child attends Thacher School not Willett. Willett school is the one with the Speech issue. So this is only one example of Ms. Craw putting other children first and trying to help resolve the problem not try to dismiss like Murphy. He also tried to drag other members down asking them to support his unexcusable actions. As a parent of a Special Ed student at Hill Roberts, I find it reassuring that Ms. Craw is out there advocating for our children. It is about time someone showed they care about these children and will help parents and students get the appropriate services in place. From what I got about the Superintendent search, this is not Murphy's plan. The whole committee put this plan in place. So as for Craw, Furtado and Parent preventing the city from getting a good superintendent - they seem to be the only who care if we get the best for our city. They did not settle for Durkin and will not settle for another destructive Supt. They will bring Attleboro the best candidate.

I am new to Patch, but not new to watching SC meetings. Mr. Murphy has gone awry for far too long. He was called out on trying to be a committee member of one and this was rightly just. He should his lack of concern for the students by his inappropriate email. This also shows he is trying to for alliances/sides/agendas. I am neutral, but it is so obvious that Mr. Murphy's purpose on the SC is not for the children, but to back administration at all costs. It just saddens me that this is effecting the children. I hope Mr. Murphy finds it in his heart and soul to reflect back and to see the error of his ways. It is not too late for him to change and do the right thing. God forgives and people will forgive you also Mr. Murphy if you make amends. Thank you to the committee members who do care about the children they need people to speak on their behalf. I can see by watching the meetings that Furtado, Parent and Craw have unconditional love for the children of Attleboro and do their best to help our children. Bless you all and thank you.

Why does Murphy keep causing these media issues. Is this what he thrives on. Grow up. A parent speaks out and you are found to be in the wrong and it is the fault of everyone else. Murphy is caught holding back door meetings and it is other committee members faults. Even Parent and Zito, who were members of the group Mruphy spoke at without committee permission, said they knew nothing about him presenting. Murphy decided to show up at this meeting with intention of holding an unapproved focus group. He cannot speak for all committee members without approval. He did not let committee members know about this and other meetings. He has over stepped his boundaries as a school committee member and chair Tyler needs to redirect Mr. Murphy before he ruins the supt search. Who would want to apply and work with a committee member who does things without consent of the full committee. Who would want to work in a city that has an SC member causing controversy at every turn. Mr. Murphy needs to stop the games and get serious for the sake of our children, teachers and schools. Maybe if he had children in school he might understand.

Are you kidding? How can uneducated people hire a new supt. of schools. We need professionals to hire. Focus groups are good for input but,the educators are the ones that know the criteria and the needs of ours schools. The failure of our school board will deter a professional supt. we will have applicants that have tried many schools and we will get rejects. If you are not aware of the process and the job of the supt. you have not a clue of what it takes. I pray among a lot of our community that the current committee doesn't get to make that final descion . They ate disgraceful and unprofessional ! Hopefully others run next time and get out the distraction from the real issues.

This has gotten so off topic. If it weren't for the state requiring that elected officials hold their meetings open to the public, it might give everyone in the group an opportunity to air any bad blood so the meetings with an agenda could run smoothly. No one should be fooled into thinking this doesn't happen in other districts, it happens everywhere. It is when it's in your own back yard that you feel it's the only place on earth that it goes on. It's time for a new superintendent & fixing the problems Attleboro has is long overdue. We have lost a lot of administrators & good teacher during the term of our current Superintendent. Let's not forget, the public voted for this board and will vote again in November. I have to disagree with someone on here that said that Furtado & Craw don't let them get a word in. I have spoken with both of them about separate matters & both were very approachable. Maybe it depends on the approach the person had when they reached out to them? I can't say. I will say that Mr. Parent is overly courtious & I agree, he had a valid point Monday evening. Let's not pick a side but look at the situation. This board needs to run as a group, not a one-man show, no matter who appears to be taking the lead. Murphy, Furtado, it doesn't mattter. No one, not even the Chair person, can run the committee or speak for that committee unless the majority are on board. Now, let's fix the problems we have with our special ed program, it's shamful!

What's with all the new users with only one comment against Murphy? This article alone has G. Pereria, J McKenna, Mrs. Johnson, Frank Stearns, Nancy S, Louie Costa, Jen Cerrone, Stanley Welch, Pat Woods, Scott Richardson and FedEx. Seems like a well organized smear campaign.

Everyone has the right to comment here, whether they are a new comer or not. I don't think it should depend on what side they are on.

It is not about "what side they are on." There are an alarming number of "first-time" commenters in this thread. You can see yourself, just click on the name and you will see how many comments a user has made. For several of these "people," the number is 1. That's an amazing coincidence that so many people would decide to comment for the first time in this thread. This consistently happens with school committee articles.

I was trying not to comment on here but I feel the need to clarify some things- First, @reason- The weekly school committee open forum IS for addressing new issues as well as whats on the agenda. Special sessions (such as last night) are for directed purposes. You obviously are someones puppet as you have no concept of how things run. And please sir read before you post- My name is Jen CROWDER not Cerrone. If you are going to try and attack someone, at least direct it at the right person.
I am no one's puppet in this abomination of a school system. Yes, I go to Ms. Craw as she understands what I am talking about when it comes to IEPS since she has been through this mess. Ms. Furtado is my ward rep. Once again the schools are in non-compliance with my sons IEP and once again I have to file a complaint. Once again the administration did not respond so once again I have to go to the school committee and the Board of Education. It's called the chain of command. And instead of just emailing them all I went to the meeting because others parents NEED to know. Right now there are 2 schools and soon to be 3 with staffing issues for special ed.
I may be the most vocal about the issue but I am far from someones puppet and far from the only one with an issue-

It is comical that Murphy supporters are turning this around on Parent, Craw & Furtado. Murphy caused this & was caught forming sides against another sc member. His political aspirations have gotten out of hand & he forgets what seat he is holding. All the woman that serve on the sc is highly educated. They hold high level jobs & yes, they have college degrees. A sc should not be made of only educators. A degree does not mark your intelligence. Many self made successes didn't go to college & can run circles around people with master degrees or Phd's. We need parents on the sc so that children & their educations are represented. We need an administration that is willing to work with the sc. I know many teachers & they have reached out to sc members including Craw & Furtado & they're disappointed in Administration. Educators are being represented by these 2 members that Murphy supporters are so quick to attack.

It makes me chuckle when Sarah states that Craw & Furtado ignored her attempts to reach out. They are 2 of the few that do respond. Ask Ms. Crowder if Mr. Murphy responded to her emails. Ask Willett parents about how Mr. O'Neil ignored them when they reached out to him about their principal. When I asked Ms. Craw & Ms. Furtado about ignoring calls or emails from parents, they both said about the same thing. We return all calls & emails, but people will lie to the media in order to support their candidate & make us look bad. They then said that if anyone wants to contact them, they would be more than happy to hear their concerns - even concerns that apply to this article. So Sarah - give them a call. I will follow up with them to see if you reached out. Please do not post lies on here. Do not make up things to try to vindicate a sc member who got caught showing no concern for the students but for trying to disrupt the committee. Stop dragging good people down to defend someone who has done wrong.

Eleven of the above commenters are first-time commenters who created their user accounts shortly before posting. All 11 also have blocked their IP addresses (a blocked IP address is not the norm). One can reach his/her own conclusion on what this means. My conclusion is that comments will no longer be accepted for this article.