North Penn hires investigator, as parents push for safety measures

School safety continues to be the hottest topic in the North Penn School District.

An outside consultant is now on board to investigate an attack that left a student hospitalized last month, as parents continue to press the board for answers, and rumors fly about other safety-related incidents in recent weeks.

“Here we are, a month later, and I’m more angry than the first time I came up here,” said parent Alyssa Santiago.

“I pulled my daughter from Pennbrook after her friend was brutally attacked, and now I’m pulling my son. Where is their right to learn? Who’s standing up for the children that want to learn?” she said.

Parents have taken aim at the school board and administrators over safety and security since April 18, the day after an alleged attack at Pennbrook Middle School that left the victim hospitalized. The next night, students and parents grilled the board on what they saw as failures of the district’s security efforts, and asked for immediate steps to increase school safety.

In subsequent meetings, the district and board vowed to take steps including hiring an outside investigator to examine the incident, the district’s response, and any shortfalls or recommendations for further action. Parents have continued to push, including during a two-hour safety forum on Tuesday night, for concrete steps to make schools safer.

The conversation continued on Thursday night, in a lengthy board meeting that saw questions and accusations about another middle school safety incident, the hiring of that third-party outside investigator, and an administrative change that parents say is too little, too late.

Pennfield incident

Several parents pressed the board for specifics on another alleged safety incident, this one at Pennfield Middle School in Hatfield on Monday, May 13.

According to a statement from Pennfield principal Sean O’Sullivan to families later that day, that morning “a student reported to school officials that another student made threatening remarks in person and over the weekend on social media.” District security and Hatfield police were called immediately, “the accused student was interviewed and a knife and illegal vaping products were found in the student’s locker. The student was removed from the school and criminal charges are pending. Bringing any sort of weapon to school is against school policy and the law, and will also result in school disciplinary consequences,” O’Sullivan said.

Hatfield police Chief Bill Tierney said Friday that incident involved “a six-inch-blade knife” he described as one “you could buy at any sporting good store — I guess you might call it a hunting-type knife.” The chief added that his officers have visited Pennfield a total of 39 times during the current schoolyear, “not all of them negative: we could’ve been at a school dance providing security, things like that,” and referred back to his comments in the Tuesday forum about rumors flying when facts are unclear.

“Rumors outweigh fact at some point, and then we’re left scrambling to dispel rumors, to get back to facts,” he said.

During the Thursday night board meeting, parents pushed the board on how another incident could happen, and what steps the board would take to better secure the school. A Pennfield parent said her son was the victim of the Pennfield threat, and said she was thankful for the quick response from school staff.

“Do you guys understand how quickly this could’ve escalated? I have one kid, and I thank God every day that he is safe,” she said. “I just want to know why the child was allowed to return to the North Penn School District after knowing the violent record this child has.”

“Had this child had help when these behaviors had started, back in elementary school, maybe we wouldn’t be here today with this situation,” she said.

A Pennfield student said the dispute started the Friday before, continued with threats outside of school over the weekend, then “on Monday he came to me and he told me he was going to kill me,” a threat the victim reported immediately to the school principal, prompting the police response, the search and the found weapon.

“I want to know how a kid can get a blade that big into school, without people knowing. How are you letting everybody bring these weapons into school, and nobody’s stopping them? How are all these fights happening, and you guys aren’t doing anything about it? What is going on in your district?” he said. “I was scared to go into school. I haven’t been there the past three days, because I’m scared to go. I want to know why you guys aren’t doing anything.”

Santiago said she had heard of “three separate incidents of violence in our schools” since Pennbrook attack, including a threat against her son in elementary school, which she said she learned of from him and not any staff there.

“You keep saying every student has the right to learn in a classroom setting. But when a child repeatedly proves they cannot do so, and show violent, consistent behaviors, there needs to be consequences,” she said. “Not holding these kids responsible, you are enabling school violence.”

Pennbrook questions remain

A Pennbrook student asked the board why “all of you are lying about the true story of what really happened, of the attack” in April at that school, and said board members were “letting people know (the alleged assailant) was bullied, and in the office because of that, when that’s not the true reason.”

That alleged assailant “was in the office, due to threats to me and my friends,” the student said, before asking why the alleged assailant was let out of the school’s office and into the cafeteria where the attack occurred. “I don’t understand why [the alleged assailant] was let out. It doesn’t make any sense. And all of you sitting here lying, and telling everyone that [the alleged assailant] was bullied, you’re hiding behind all lies, to protect yourselves.”

Shannon Main read security statistics about the numbers of incidents reported in the past year at all three middle schools, and at certain elementary schools, while describing details of other alleged safety and security incidents she had heard from parents, including a student threatening others with scissors, another hiding from a classmate who pulled hair and punched the victim, and an employee suffering a concussion “from a violent outburst of a student.”

“I cannot believe this is happening daily in our district, and the communication with the parents is terrible when things happen,” she said.

“The day of the attack at Pennbrook, we all know that multiple adults were at fault. There was nothing proactively done for more security, before the student attended Pennbrook. The student never should have been in the cafeteria. We don’t need a third party investigation to tell us what happened, and went wrong that day. What we need is a third party investigation to evaluate the policies implemented by the current board,” Main said.

A North Penn High School student said she’d met with administrators there frequently about school safety, including leading a student safety committee there for over a year, and seen “nothing is ever done, unless a student takes action.”

“We’ve raised concerns, whether it’s extreme concerns about the fights at our school, or very basic things such as the lack of information that is being given regarding school safety. We’ve taken the time to go through two, two-and-a-half, three-hour meetings, and come up with plans,” she said: “We come up with plans, and nothing’s ever implemented, but that’s not something that I can do. As a 17-year-old girl, I do not have the power to go and make a schoolwide assembly. I can go talk to the people who have the power to do that, but unless they actually listen, and do the things that need to be done, there’s nothing we can ever do.”

Third-party contract approved

A contract for that third-party investigator was approved unanimously by the board, after a brief introduction by Superintendent Todd Bauer. York-based Law firm Stock and Leader will investigate “the student incident that occurred at Pennbrook Middle School on April 17, 2024, and the events leading up to it,” with costs covered by the district’s insurance carrier, according to the superintendent.

Board member Al Roesch asked for details on how that firm was chosen, and solicitor Kyle Somers said his office identified “potential firms that could be available, and qualified to provide the service,” that information was shared with the board, and after board feedback, “as a result of that feedback, an item was put on the agenda for tonight.”

“It includes knowledge of K-to-12 operations, student discipline issues, special education issues, and response to disciplinary incidents,” Somers said, and the firm has indicated that the lead investigator of the incident will be Dr. Leigh Dalton, an attorney with a doctorate in educational policy.

“Her areas of focus that are noted include special education, student and pupil services, compliance monitoring, and student discipline, so certainly a number of issues that are likely to be addressed as part of the investigation,” Somers said.

“The investigation is certainly designed to look at the incident itself, as well as the events leading up to it, but the independent third-party firm is also being asked to make recommendations and provide resources to ensure that a similar incident does not occur again in the future,” he said.

Prior to that action item, several residents questioned how that firm was selected, and why: Pennbrook parent Stephanie Palovcak quoted Bauer’s words from two nights before, at the safety forum.

“You spoke the other night on how the investigation is going to look at how and why some decisions were made. And to quote you, how sometimes the wrong ones are made. We’ve heard numerous parents speak out recently about their child experiencing with school violence, and to quote you once again: ‘I hear all of you, and clearly we are falling short in this area.’ My question is, why did it have to come to such a horrible attack, to get your attention?” she said.

Palovcak added that she thought a video of district security efforts shown at the safety form “was all for show, “and asked why Pennbrook’s principal or other administrators had not been held responsible.

“I don’t think it should have to come down to a third-party investigation, for them to be held accountable. If I mess up my job, my boss is gonna reprimand me. You’re the boss. Do something, guys. We don’t want to wait,” she said, vowing to keep pushing for answers: “Just because summer’s coming, I’m not gonna go away.”

Jason Lanier asked if the firm was chosen due to their ties to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association: “It doesn’t seem very independent to me,” and questioned whether their findings would be publicized, or ruled to be privileged and not released to the public.

“This is to cover up the tracks of what’s going on. This is to cover up the discipline policy, which I mentioned Tuesday, where the board authorized the use of restorative practices,” which Lanier said he thought meant students were returned to classrooms despite possible dangers to other students.

“When you do restorative practices, that means you’re lowering the standards, so that everybody comes out equal. That means you are going to increase the number of problems. You asked for this problem, you continue to ask for this problem. This kid was a known problem, you let them back into school, time and time again,” he said.

Parent Erin Blanc said, after a month of safety discussion with other parents who had safety concerns, “I don’t feel my kids are any safer than I did a month ago,” and said she was “tired of hearing about every new program being implemented to give second chances, and restore behavior. These kids need to see actual consequences for behaviors.” She added that she had heard stories about both the alleged Pennbrook assailant and the alleged Pennfield student had reported incidents as early as elementary school, “that were serious red flags.”

“Hold offenders accountable, every single time, from the beginning. Keep them out of our schools. There are other ways,” including virtual instruction, consequences for parents, or assignment to the district’s Northbridge School, Blanc said, before suggesting another: “When will you be implementing a North Penn police force? I have been having conversations with different members of administration and the board for over a year now, and I’m done patiently waiting. It’s time.”

Special education shakeup

In a series of votes, the board approved a shakeup, starting with a separation agreement with Megan McGee-Heim, the now-former director of secondary education and student services, who received that expanded title in February and had been the director of special education since March 2021. A separate vote approving the board’s monthly personnel moves approved two related administrative changes: current Assistant Director of Student Services Neil Broxterman was transferred to Interim Director of Secondary, Special, and Student Services effective May 15 with a pay increase of roughly $7,000 per year prorated, and North Penn High School special education teacher Don Walsh was transferred to replace Broxterman as Interim Assistant Principal at the Northbridge School, with a salary increase from just over $86,000 per year to $149,000 per year prorated.

No comments were made on those moves by the board, but a statement sent to families from district Chief Academic Officer Mike McKenna detailed those changes, and said McKenna “will oversee elementary education until early June, when Ms. Allison Kuchler joins NPSD as Director of Elementary Special Education and Student Services.”

“To help lead Northbridge while Dr. Broxterman serves in the new Interim Director position, Mr. Don Walsh, a current special education teacher at the high school who also served as an administrator at Northbridge previously, has agreed to serve as an interim assistant principal at Northbridge. We will also have a substitute teacher to backfill Mr. Walsh’s position at the high school,” said McKenna in the statement.

Somers addressed the moves indirectly during his solicitor’s report, saying the board had met in executive session on April 29 and May 2 “regarding legal information in connection with the student incident that occurred at Pennbrook Middle School on April 17, 2024,” and prior to the meeting on Thursday night “to discuss matters of personnel involving an administrative employee.” No board members commented on the separation agreement after Bauer read the motion, but several audience members applauded after it was unanimously approved.

Several parents shared stories of their battles with the district’s special education bureaucracy, and student needs they say have gone unmet. Nina Voce said she felt “it’s like our kids are an afterthought,” and several other parents shared individual stories of their children’s needs for special instruction or accommodations that they say weren’t addressed or met by the district. Karalyn McGrorty Derstine added concerns with the numbers of counselors and aides per student across the district, and said she felt current staffing numbers of one or two counselors for schools with hundreds of students weren’t enough.

“Bringing high-need students, high-risk population, into a poorly-resourced district, is a recipe for disaster,” she said. “Our children should not be stigmatized for the needs that they have, and other students should not be traumatized because the kids that need help, aren’t getting it.”

Don Gallagher asked if the district’s youth aid panel program, set up in 2023 in coordination with the county District Attorney’s office to adjudicate certain offenses outside of the police and court system, was contributing to the safety concerns. Bauer answered that the program was initiated by local police, using criteria developed with their input to determine which offenses are heard by the panels: “I can send you a list of things that are part of that, and incidents that are not. Certainly, weapons are not,” Bauer said.

North Penn’s school board next meets at 7 p.m. on June 4 and the district safe schools committee next meets at 5:45 p.m. on May 28; for more information visit www.NPenn.org.

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