State of Maine, Cumberland ss
Superior Court Civil Action Docket No. CV-04-98
Gayle A. Fitzpatrick & Charles Rankowski, individually and as parents of Jan Rankowski, a minor, Plaintiffs
vs.
Town of Falmouth, et al., Defendants
Appearances:
On Behalf of the Plaintiffs: Ronald R. Coles, Esq.
On Behalf ot the Defendants: Melissa A. Hewey, Esq.
Transcript of Hearing, 27 August 2004 before Thomas E. Humphrey, Justice
11. TESTIMONY OF KATHY WOODMAN
MS. HEWEY: Thank you. Your Honor, the defendant calls Kathy Woodman.
THE COURT: Please raise your right hand. (The witness took the witness stand and was sworn in by the court.)
THE COURT: Would you please state your full name. THE WITNESS: Kathy Woodman.
THE COURT: K A T H Y. THE WITNESS: W 0 0 D M A N.
THE COURT: Thank you. You may be seated. KATHY WOODMAN, after having been first duly sworn, testified as follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. HEWEY: Q You live in Falmouth?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. And you have children in the Falmouth schools?
A. Yes.
Q. How many?
A. Two.
Q. Is one of your children autistic?
A. Yes.
Q. And what school does your autistic child go to?
A. He will be going into Plummer-Motz.
Q. Has he been in the Lunt School?
A. He has been in the Lunt School for three years.
Q. And during the course, well, during the course of the time that he's been with the Falmouth School Department have you had the occasion to work with Polly Crowell?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. And in what respects have you worked with Polly?
A. PETs, committees, she's just been part of the team that is helping my son in the school department and in the community.
Q. And could you describe for the court your experience in terms of Miss Crowell's responsiveness and the Falmouth School Department's responsiveness to your child's needs?
MR. COLES: I think counsel is leading the witness, Your Honor.
MS. HEWEY: No. I said will you describe.
THE COURT: The objection is overruled. You may answer that question.
THE WITNESS: Thank you. Polly has always been, thank you, extremely helpful. She has been willing to listen. I don't think she's ever denied us anything. She is just part of a great team that we have to help my son thrive in the school and the community.
BY MS. HEWEY:
Q. Now has your son at times when he's been at the Falmouth School Department had behavioral issues?
A. Yeap, he has.
Q. And when behavioral issues arise how was it that the school department proposed to address those?
A. The team came together and asked if I would have a behavioral consultant do an assessment on my son. I said certainly. I signed the papers, and we got some great information to help him go through the school system.
Q. And so from your perspective how is your son's experience been in the Falmouth School Department?
A. He just had --
MR. COLES: Objection, Your Honor, it's irrelevant.
THE COURT: Overruled. You may answer that question.
THE WITNESS: He just had the best year ever. He had a wonderful teacher who was willing to work with him. The autism room Tammy is phenomenal. The ed-techs are great. The kids were wonderful. I went in and spoke to them for 45 minutes, and they asked me all kinds of questions, and the end comment was, you mean he's just like us, and I said, yes, he is, and they have just loved him.
BY MS. HEWEY:
Q. Thank you. I have no further questions.
CROSS EXAMINATION
BY MR. COLES:
Q. Just a few questions. Your son is eleven-years-old?
A. No, he is not, he is eight-and-a-half.
Q. And he is going into the third grade?
A. Yes, he is.
Q. Does your son have a private team working with your child?
A. No, he does not.
Q. You get all your team information, teamwork from the Falmouth School Department?
A. Yes.
Q. You use school services, psychologists, education techs?
A. Yes.
Q. You didn't use any outside personnel, correct?
A. No, I do not.
Q. Your child is not home schooled, is he?
A. No.
Q. Nothing further.
THE COURT: Thank you. Attorney Hewey.
MS. HEWEY: Nothing further.
THE COURT: Thank you, Miss Woodman, you may step down. Attorney Hewey.
MS. HEWEY: My next witness is Wendy O'Donovan.
Reported by: Diane L. McManus, Official Court Reporter
(This transcript was scanned from a certified copy of the original and converted to text using OmniPage Pro 14.)
