Update from last post
13 InvestigatesSchool district: Sixth graders had sex in class
March 8, 2007 10:31 AM EST
Sandra Chapman/13 Investigates
Indianapolis - For months it's been a well-kept secret. But now Warren Township Schools confirm a disturbing case of sex in the classroom. The illicit activity has parents concerned and a district at a loss for words.
Shop class gives students a chance to learn outside of the book. But at Warren Township's Raymond Park Middle School, two students engaged in illicit acts in view of goggled eyes.
13 Investigates was tipped off by a disturbed resident who writes:
"...during school hours in a classroom with an experienced teacher present, two sixth graders completed the act of intercourse...at least ten students were witnesses. No disciplinary actions were taken against the teacher... All teachers were told to keep quiet."
Middle school students having sex in a busy classroom while a teacher is present? Warren Township Associate Superintendent Jeff Swensson confirmed it's true. It's been kept under wraps since November.
The principal at Raymond Park Middle School would not speak to us about the incident or parents concerns. The superintendent in charge of middle schools in the district also backed out of an on-camera interview and instead provided a three-sentence statement:
"Two students were involved in inappropriate conduct in a lab class last semester. We have investigated the matter and taken appropriate action. The school corporation considers the matter closed and will have no further comment."
Associate Superintendent Jeff Swensson told Eyewitness News off camera the teacher didn't know what was going on because another student acted as a "look-out." But once the teacher discovered the behavior, immediate action was taken. Swensson says the students involved were recommended for expulsion. But he did not say whether the board followed that recommendation.
Warren Township School Police were not aware of the incident and say no report was made even though the children were recommended for expulsion.
We sought comment from all seven Warren Township School Board Members about how this case was handled. No one was available to speak with us.
Reviewing the RED
Cover up Cover up and Cover up.
I can bet the person that tip off the news was a teacher. A good teacher. One that believe a public school is just that public. Is the Warren Township School Police covering as well? This is why I say our Camden County Board of Education should allow people to speak freely. Please look at the comments and I will explain why the board is in violation of the law.
"The people of this County do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created." ***The views expressed on this blog are the opinions of the individual that wrote them.
1 comment:
Back in October there was a woman at the board meeting who wanted to comment on a teacher. She stood up at the podium and started to speak, when she mentioned a teacher’s name Mr. Coffel got up out of his seat walked over to the podium and covered the mic. She was told she would have to finish that in executive session. I stood up and told Mr. Coffel that he was in violation of the law. I told him he is violating parents’ right to free speech. After talking to the woman that night I heard her side. I waited for the teacher’s side to come out. Mr. Coffel did not.
Why is this a violation?
Well because the courts have said so.
Please read.
In Fayette County, Georgia, The Citizen newspaper says Georgia's "Sunshine Laws" are in practice "more like suggestions."2 In December 1997, the Fayette County School Board allegedly violated the Open Meeting Law for the third time in one year by meeting in the home of the Board President without public notice.3 In Georgia, advance public notice of a meeting is required, but an agenda is not required until afterward.
Tyrone parent Joy Belyeu and other members of two concerned parents groups have recently clashed with the Fayette Board. After criticizing the Superintendent, Belyeu was required to finish her remarks in a closed session.
Georgia Press Association attorney Jim Ellington says it is a violation of Georgia's Open Meeting Act to silence a statement made in a public hearing, then separate the complaining party in a closed session.4
Schools attorney Sarah Murphy disagrees: "Board deliberations about disciplinary actions or employee evaluations should be considered in private to protect the rights of the employee."5 But does criticism by a member of the public constitute "board deliberation?"
Murphy says most school attorneys disagree with a July 1995 unofficial opinion from Georgia's Attorney General. That ruling stated, "A school board may not close to the public any meeting devoted to the airing of grievances about school personnel by interested members of the public." The ruling went on to say "evidence or argument presented to the board must be held in an open meeting," while "deliberation or discussion by the board" may be in closed session.6
I will post the whole article later.
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