Lack of transparency makes things worse

The climate has changed, and what could be brushed under the rug in 2013 or even 2017 no longer gets a pass from most people.

C omplaints of inappropriate behavior against former Stonington High School teacher Timothy Chokas, and the way school officials managed them for as long as six years, just prove again the universal testimony of the #metoo movement: Until recently, men really did not have to fear any consequences when they acted inappropriately to women and girls.

And the corollary: Employers and elected officials will do whatever they can to avoid confronting the embarrassment of such behavior in their midst. Lack of transparency in such matters, we see yet again, just makes things worse.

On Sunday, Day Staff Writer Joe Wojtas reported the latest revelations in the case of Chokas, who resigned in January after female students complained of continuing inappropriate touching. The newest facts are actually the oldest: that in 2013 there were similar complaints against the teacher/coach, and that in 2017 Chokas received a “formal letter of concern” about still other allegations. Although The Day made requests under the state Freedom of Information law for documentation in the case, both in January and again in April, it took until now for the school system to cease denying that it had such records and to release them.

Chokas’ alleged behavior was persistent and offensive; how do we describe the actions of school officials who tried for months to avoid the intent of the FOI law with technicalities about the status of documents? Persistent, certainly; and their response should also be offensive to the students, parents and all residents of Stonington. Their resistance compounds the original failure to take the necessary steps, possibly even the legal mandate to report some of the allegations to the state Department of Children and Families.

In the recent past Norwich Free Academy and the Montville and New London school systems have had to face questionable and potentially criminal behavior by employees. New London’s situation is under ongoing police investigation and thus subject to limitations on what the public can know for now. But administrators at NFA and Montville High School have faced scathing criticism and the self-knowledge that they failed to protect students by choosing to protect the accused.

The allegations against Timothy Chokas are less serious than those against certain employees in the other schools. However, if that’s why Stonington officials chose a letter of reprimand as the proper response until forced to confront continued inappropriate behavior, they exposed additional students to more of the same unwanted closeness, familiarity and physical contact.

That is the pattern of situations in which women and girls often found themselves pre-#metoo. Behavior that was by common consent considered offensive or worse was allowed to go unpenalized.

The climate has changed, however, and what could be brushed under the rug in 2013 or even 2017 no longer gets a pass from most people. The changes of the past couple of years may well have helped embolden some of the more recent recipients of Chokas’ unwanted attention to speak up.

The Day reported Monday that Stonington Board of Education Chairwoman Alexa Garvey had overcome her original reluctance to hold a meeting on the topic while awaiting the findings of a review being conducted by the state Office of the Child Advocate. Sarah Eagan, head of that office, said last week that her review is in its early stages; the length of time will depend on getting answers to questions generated by the review. According to Garvey, as of Sunday night all school board members wanted to proceed with a meeting, and she expects to schedule one for next week.

There will be plenty of time and plenty of cause for more than a single meeting. It is too soon to judge whether the principal, director of guidance and superintendent took sufficient and timely action in response to complaints in 2013, 2016, 2017 and, finally, this year. The OCA findings will indeed shed more light on that question.

The Board of Education, meanwhile, has the opportunity to show that it recognizes the seriousness of the complaints from female students it has a duty to educate and to protect, and to show at least as much courage as they did.