State Seeks Control Of Troubled Special Ed Agency

State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester has proposed naming a state oversight team to help manage a troubled agency that serves special needs children where more than $30 million may have been spent inappropriately.

A spokesman for the commissioner says under a memorandum of agreement that will be considered Wednesday at a Merrimack Special Education Collaborative board meeting, Chester is calling for three to four officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to help the agency.

The Boston Globe reports that Chester is also calling for the board to give him the authority to approve or reject an interim executive director.

The agency is facing investigations by federal prosecutors and half a dozen state agencies.

Money was allegedly spent on excessive salaries and luxuries such as country club outings.