Parents group rallies again
Community members accuse Pine-Richland School District of mishandling sexual assault, other student safety issues
Two weeks after a parent organization came forward with allegations that the Pine-Richland School District mishandled assault accusations, community members joined in a rally Monday evening to continue to voice their concerns.
The organization Protect Our Students in Pine-Richland Now met in front of the high school to “voice their support for urgent action against the district’s dismissive attitude toward sexual assault and the intimidation of children and survivors of sexual assault,” a news release said.
“We’re here today to stand together,” PROSPR Now founder Tom Baxter said before Monday’s school board meeting.
PROSPR Now has been collecting testimonies from Pine-Richland families of instances where they reported any type of infraction to student safety to the district and “were not satisfied with the district’s response.”
The group said they’ve been hearing from people “almost every day.”
The organization declined to say how many of these reports that they’ve received but noted it was enough “to notice a pattern of behavior by the district that trivializes sexual assault, intimidates victims from coming forward, and retaliates against them if they do.”
At the previous school board meeting on Aug. 2, a former student told the school board that she had been raped on school property. The student and her family alleged that the school district did not properly investigate the assault.
It is policy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette not to name survivors of sexual violence.
“Any contention that the School District has discouraged, failed to act upon or engaged in retaliation for this or any other report of sexual assault is simply untrue,” the district said in an emailed statement on Monday.
During the previous school board meeting, the former student who had come forward was interrupted by one of the school’s solicitors who indicated that the school board meeting wasn’t the proper place for those allegations.
The student continued her story, and other community members brought that instance up at Monday’s meeting.
“I am worried about my kid’s safety,” one speaker said during Monday’s meeting. “Maybe this isn’t the right forum, but I would like you tell me what is the right forum? When and where can we talk about this because people are scared?”
At the Aug. 2 meeting and again Monday evening, PROSPR Now called for the resignation of Superintendent Brian Miller and Assistant Superintendent Michael Pasquinelli.
Additionally, they are seeking resignation letters from the
entire school board except Amy Hayden, who was just appointed in May.
If Mr. Miller and Mr. Pasquinelli do not resign, PROSPR Now is asking that the board hold a hearing to take a vote on their removal.
PROSPR Now also has plans to take the testimonies of community members to court, where they plan to petition the removal of school board members for “neglect of duty.”
“I assure the district of our resolve and our will to see this through,” Mr. Baxter said.
During Monday night’s meeting school board President Peter Lyons noted that the board met for an executive session on Aug. 10 to discuss the allegations PROSPR Now had brought forth.
“We strive to create a positive school culture for students, parents and staff,” the district’s statement said. “We are intentional and focused on continuous improvement.
We have refined and continue to review our policies and practices. We do this because of our commitment to a safe and positive environment.”
“We encourage those who have a concern to report through to the proper authorities,” the statement continued. “No one who believes they have been victimized in any way should go unheard.”
In addition to the allegations of mishandling instances of assault, Mr. Baxter said he was told by a board member that the district was aware of a 2016 incident in which a girls basketball coach had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl two months before his arrest.
Mr. Lyons said that the district’s solicitor has already attempted to reach out to that board member and has begun an investigation into that accusation.