2 weeks Ago
PITTSFIELD — City councilors are pushing the School Committee to release more information from the investigation into staff misconduct at Pittsfield High School. Councilor at large Earl Persip III filed a petition requesting a public summary of the investigation's findings — something the School Committee has pledged to do. He said the lack of communication has eroded trust and left parents, including himself, questioning whether to keep their children in the district.
“To gain the trust back in the community, I think it's important that we release what we can,” Persip said. “We need to be able to trust the people that we let our children go to for six hours, seven hours a day for the majority of the year.” The rest of the council echoed Persip’s concerns, and they voted unanimously Tuesday night to refer the matter to the School Committee.
The committee commissioned the investigation last December in the wake of a spate of accusations against PHS administrators — starting with Dean of Students Lavante Wiggins, who was arrested on federal drug charges. Other allegations were made against Molly West, also a dean of students, and vice principal Alison Shepard. At the time, School Committee Chairman William J.
Cameron promised to release the portions of the report that legal counsel would allow. But more recently, he said the full report would not be made public , citing privacy concerns. Even a redacted version, he said, could put all those involved at risk of harassment and make people less likely to cooperate with future investigations.
Instead, the committee unanimously voted to produce an executive summary outlining the process of the investigation what was found without personal details compiled by Cameron and the district's attorney, Russell Dupere. The report has not yet been released, though some School Committee members said they have read a version of it. Councilor Dina Lampiasi said both councilors and residents have been left in the dark.
“I think most of the community, including myself, was disappointed to hear that information was being withheld and to see that the goalpost keeps being moved,” Lampiasi said. “Students and parents do not have trust in our school system.” Councilor Rhonda Serre said this undermines the council’s original support of the School Committee’s decision to investigate.
“Our original petition was to show our support and lift the School Committee members up, knowing there was unity behind them and that we agreed that they would investigate this, and there will be full transparency,” Serre said. Led by retired Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup, the investigation has already found that the allegations against West are “ unsupported ,” and she has returned to work. Wiggins and Shepard remain on paid leave.
Although Councilor Kenneth Warren said he supports due process and does not want to undermine the rights of those who have been cleared to return to work, he criticized the way the investigation has been handled. “This is about trust, transparency and the integrity of our educational communities,” Warren said. “We cannot build trust with secrecy.
We cannot foster safety with silence.” Warren also took issue with the fact that the legal opinion not to fully release the report was provided by Dupere, and that Cameron is helping to write the public summary. “[The report] should be done independently,” Warren said.
“I think this is going to lead to a continued exodus of staff and students.” Since the investigation, compiled by Springfield law firm Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas, is being funded by taxpayer dollars, Warren argued that Pittsfield residents “need to see that [the] investigation was done in good faith and full transparency.” Councilor Alisa Costa emphasized the importance of responsibility in the wake of the investigation.
“We're trying to do what's right for our community, and restorative justice demands that we take action and we take accountability for mistakes that we've made,” Costa said. “But if we don't know where our weaknesses are, we can't fix it. We can't be stronger as a community.
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