WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Retaliation, defamation, negligence: just a few things the Watertown City School District, its board of education, and school officials are accused of in a notice of claim filed by The Treehouse Child Care Center and its CEO, Mandy Burt.
A notice of claim is usually the first step in filing a lawsuit.
It revolves around the district’s changes to its Universal Pre-K program earlier this year, when it decided to operate its own preschool education classrooms, in addition to other community-based organizations.
According to the paperwork, The Treehouse has contracted with the district to provide UPK services for the last decade, but this year, Burt learned she wouldn’t be able to run UPK classrooms at Ohio Elementary as she had in the past, reducing Treehouse’s capacity by 40.
The paperwork alleges the move was retaliatory. In 2023, Burt began complaining about the district’s lack of funds for special education services, and later, additional funding for UPK. Those complaints continued through this year.
In March, The Treehouse submitted its proposal for the UPK program, as Burt continued to publicly express her frustrations about the school board’s actions and its budget.
The paperwork claimed The Treehouse’s proposal falsely received the lowest score.
According to the notice of claim, a FOIL request revealed The Treehouse’s score was ten points higher than was made public, and alleges notations made on the paperwork noted points were deducted because Burt publicly advocated to vote down the school budget.
The legal paperwork also claims Superintendent Larry Schmiegel called Burt “crazy.”
The document says actions by the district and board have been financially and personally harmful, and have caused humiliation and shame.
Burt’s attorney tells 7News this notice of claim is to let the district know they’re alleged to have done something wrong and gives them an opportunity to investigate the allegations.
We reached out to school board President John Cain, who said it would be irresponsible to comment on pending litigation.
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