Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PLUM, Pa. (AP) — A district superintendent in suburban Pittsburgh has two days to consider taking paid leave while the school board investigates how he handled reports of inappropriate sexual relationships between teachers and students.
Plum Borough School District Superintendent Timothy Glasspool said only that he would "continue to devote" his time to the district after the board asked him to consider taking leave at Tuesday night's board meeting. Glasspool didn't return repeated emails or a phone call Wednesday from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Glasspool is the second high-ranking administrator singled out by the school board since the Allegheny County district attorney released a grand jury report last week. The report criticized the district for not documenting or reporting rumors and allegations of inappropriate teacher-student relationships to police and other authorities.
Plum High School Principal Ryan Kociela was placed on paid leave Saturday. His attorney has declined comment and Kociela did not immediately return a call from the AP, also on Wednesday.
Two male teachers have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison since being charged last year for sexual relationships with female students, while a third teacher awaits trial on similar charges. A fourth teacher is awaiting trial on charges he tried to intimidate one of the student accusers. The teachers still awaiting trial have denied wrongdoing.
The board has said it plans an internal investigation, likely conducted by a law firm to be hired, into any employees named in the report. Glasspool and Kociela are the two-highest-ranking employees named.
Essentially, the grand jury found they didn't do enough to investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct by one of the teachers now serving a prison sentence, some dating to 2011. The grand jury determined criminal charges weren't warranted, primarily because state law on who must report such information and how it must be reported was evolving at the time, partly due to changes the Legislature made in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child-sex scandal at Penn State University.
School district solicitor Lee Price said some critics want the administrators to be fired based on the grand jury report, but due process and other constitutional rights mean he report, by itself, isn't enough for that to happen.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
