Pittsfield Considering Nonprofit for School Investigation
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council and School Committee will consider a children's advocacy nonprofit to audit the Pittsfield Public Schools.
On Tuesday, the council supported a petition from Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren requesting to schedule a joint meeting to receive a presentation from Jetta Bernier, executive director of Enough Abuse.
"The object is, we're trying to address a serious problem of sexual abuse in the schools," Warren said. "And I want to get this off the ground and I want to get us moving."
On Dec. 11, PHS Dean of Students Lavante Wiggins was arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office for allegedly conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine. He was the first of three staff members to be put on administrative leave, the other two being investigated by the state Department of Children and Families.
Another former staff member at PHS is also under DCF investigation and a civil complaint has been filed against a recently retired teacher and the school related to sexual harassment.
Bulkley Richardson Gelinas of Springfield has been hired for "independent and impartial investigations of certain Pittsfield Public School employees." Last week, the School Committee tabled a retainer agreement with Mirick and O'Connell to audit the district's employment practices and procedures, a second investigation.
Warren pointed out that issues are constantly raised in the city and then die down. He doesn't want to see that happen here.
"Some of that occurs when the public doesn't have much of an opportunity to be involved. I think you see that with the public not having a chance to address the investigation process. I'm lucky that I'm a public official so I was able to address some of the investigation components that should have been added that weren't," he said.
"But I will tell you, I've been contacted by constituents and people who are not in my ward that were very interested in a lot more public dialog than we had because this affects our children and we can't afford to let this die down, or limit the public dialog. All of us up here are here because we love our community. I expect the best for Pittsfield and Pittsfield deserves the best when it's possible and it's possible here. There is no cost to explore alternatives."
He does not doubt the qualifications of the proposed firm "but not everything has to be done by a legal professional."
Enough Abuse is a citizen education and community mobilization initiative working to prevent child sexual abuse. Warren explained that it has a state and national reputation for dealing with sexual abuse issues involving minors in schools.
He contacted Bernier and said she is "very interested in addressing this."
"Not only do they provide policies, they have real-world tested policies that work in the schools in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Actually, they're dealing with some countries," he said, adding that the organization helps older schools address building features that may have inaccessible spaces where abuse is perpetrated.
"We can be a model for Berkshire County and possibly for other school systems throughout the state," Warren said.
"We need to deal with this issue and it doesn't cost us anything. She's willing to come out and speak to us. She can tell us what she's she's been involved in, and what she can offer this community. If we don't want to go that way, we don't have to."
Councilor at Large Alisa Costa commended him for bringing this forward.
"I think we often don't have the tools to deal with stuff like this or the resources and know where to go, and here we've had something shared with us, and then you've done the research, and so I really appreciate that.
"I think we need to understand what we can bring to our community to help and make the most informed decision that we can with the community. So having that presentation, especially being in a public meeting, I think would be really helpful for everyone and just that one small step closer to doing some healing."
There is a joint School Committee and City Council meeting set up for Feb. 5, which is an option for the presentation.
