DANBURY — Parents of special education students at Broadview Middle School have charged district administrators with failing to explain a teacher’s removal from the school earlier this month.

The long-running friction between parents and administrators became public this week when a heated argument broke out between administrators and parents during Wednesday’s school board meeting.

The frustrated parents tried to speak publicly in support of a teacher they said has been removed from the school, but district administrators cut them off — leading to a bitter back-and-forth.

“Shame on all of you,” parent Greg Ciany told school board members during the exchange. “Shame on every one of you to say we can’t speak about our special needs son or daughter that’s in that classroom. I’m not here to give any teacher a pat on the back, I’m here for my son. That’s it.”

The six parents who spoke said administrators have not been forthright about disciplinary issues surrounding Bill Herzog, a special education teacher at Broadview since 2001.

They said Herzog has twice been removed from the classroom with little to no explanation to parents, the first time for several months earlier this school year and again two weeks ago.

The parents adamantly support Herzog and argue that his removal has disrupted the daily routines for their children, who have severe behavioral and educational needs. As a result, they said, several students have regressed and begun to act out.

District Human Resources Director Kim Thompson, who is also the district’s in-house legal counsel, declined to address the parents’ or a reporter’s questions after the meeting Wednesday evening, citing an “ongoing” personnel issue and student privacy rules.

She would not discuss Herzog’s current employment status or whether an investigation is underway.

Reached Thursday afternoon, Herzog said he has been directed by the district not to discuss any aspects of the situation.

The confrontation Wednesday began during the public comment portion of the board meeting at Danbury High School.

Parent Theresa Lopez spoke up in support of Herzog, saying she was disappointed that he has been removed from the classroom for a second time this school year.

“I can’t imagine the first time the situation occurred that the administration would allow somebody back in the classroom that was guilty of any kind of accusation,” she said.

Thompson interjected, asking board Chairman Pat Johnston to stop Lopez from making further comments, angering Lopez and the other parents.

Parent Bob Evans, whose twin sons are in Herzog’s class, challenged the board to explain the teacher’s situation in public and alluded to a “very egregious situation that happened.”

Thompson again intervened to quash the discussion.

“In this public forum, we can’t have a conversation about members of our staff, their status, where they are in or out of a classroom,” she said.

The discussion devolved from there as Ciany accused the district of lacking transparency with parents. Johnston tried to calm the upset parents, who walked out shortly after.

Outside the meeting, Evans and other parents refused to elaborate on their public statements, but suggested the state Department of Children and Families had investigated and cleared Herzog late last year.

DCF investigations are kept confidential — with rare exceptions — and a spokesman would not confirm Thursday whether an investigation took place. When DCF does investigate teachers, the department refers its findings back to the district for review.

The News-Times has filed a public records request for documents and correspondence related to Herzog, but it had not been fulfilled by Danbury Public Schools before press time.

Back inside the meeting Wednesday, the school board continued with its planned agenda, including an executive session closed to the public for reasons including the “status of pending litigation.”

Thompson would not confirm whether that discussion was related to the parents’ concerns, but several of them had mentioned the possibility of litigation before the board’s private session began.

“I apreciate your outrage,” Johnston had told the parents earlier in the evening, “but we also don’t want to put anything in jeopardy from a legal standpoint, either. I didn’t realize it was unacceptable to talk about it previous to right now.”

Ciany said Thursday he and other parents are mostly frustrated and suspicious that they have not been told any details. He said his 15-year-old son is on the high end of the autism spectrum and almost entirely nonverbal.

“I’m dumbfounded that I can’t find anything out,” he said. “It’s like a secret society. It’s crazy and it’s scary, especially when you have kids who can’t come home and tell you what their day was like.”

zach.murdock@hearstmediact.com