Central Bucks Board Members, Public React To Findings Of Investigation

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Residents of the Central Bucks School District are weighing in on the results of an investigation commissioned by the school district in response to four complaints filed against the district through the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

While some are calling the investigation "a million dollar PR stunt," others are commending it for what it uncovered.

At a special meeting on April 20, the Philadelphia-based law firm of Duane Morris released the results of a $1 million internal investigation into complaints lodged against the school district through the OCR.

The investigation was led by attorney Michael Rinaldi and his partner Bill McSwain, both former federal prosecutors. They were joined by partner Mary Hansen, a former assistant director of
enforcement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to Rinaldi, investigators conducted 45 interviews, including employees from each of the district’s 23 schools, parents, LGBTQ+ students and members of the community, and reviewed more than 123,000 pages of documents and electronic records, including correspondence, disciplinary records, policies and procedures, video recordings and photographs, notes and social media.

“The school district's only instruction to us was to investigate and to document the facts,” he said. "The school district did not put any limits on our investigation nor say that any witnesses or documents were off limits."

The investigation, paid for by the school district, focused on four specific complaints filed against the district through the OCR, which is conducting its own investigation into the district. Those complaints surround the suspension of a middle school teacher; a walk-out at Lenape Middle School in May 2022; bullying, discrimination and harassment of LGTBQ+ students; and the adoption of district policies, which the complaint says targeted LGTBQ+ students.

"The ACLU complaint has hung over this district for months now," said board president Dana Hunter in reacting to the findings of the investigation. "This board took those allegations very seriously, which is why we retained Duane Morris to do an independent investigation.

"It's deeply disturbing that this district has been in the crosshairs and has been speculated about unfairly, targeted and reported on in the media. We have so much to be proud of in this district. We take care of our students and we care about our students. I want to thank our teachers and our staff for doing what’s right for kids all the time and for standing up for all kids.

"The problem in this community are the people who continue to perpetuate the lie that anybody in this district is against or doesn’t support LGBTQ+ students. That’s the problem. Everyone here
supports every student," said Hunter.

Superintendent Dr. Abram Lucabaugh said he was not surprised by the conclusions “that our
employees and our administrators are responsive

“And I am thrilled for (Lenape administrators) Geanine Saullo and Lauren Dowd for everything that has been said about them. I thank them in particular for showing the strength they have shown given all they had to endure.

“I’m very proud of what goes on in our schools. I’m proud of our employees. I’m proud of the work that they do ... I hope we can start to move forward as a result of what we learned tonight,” he said.

Marlene Pray, who has been an advocate for LGTBQ+ students in the community and who was was one of the 45 people interviewed as part of the investigation, called the report "a million dollar PR stunt" by the board majority.

"There is a problem with how LGBTQ+ students in CB are treated and how their suffering and obstacles have escalated over the past year and a half," said Pray.

"With the adoption of the library policy, the banning of pride flags and policy 321, the hiring of Bill McSwain, the attacks on human growth and development classes - resulting in the removal of a holocaust survivor’s quote from a school hallway, permission slips required for a high school honors biology class due to anatomy drawings of the human body in text books, the insistence by some administrators that students are not allowed to be called by their chosen names simply by making that request, and so much more.

"But what I care most about is what I hear directly from the students," said Pray. "We’ve heard those voices here in this room over and over again. I have heard dozens and dozens beyond that. And while some things are actually getting better for some LGBTQ+ kiddos across Bucks County, that is not what LGBTQ+ students in CB are saying."

Following the presentation of the findings at last week's meeting, board member Dr. Tabitha Dell'Angelo questioned the report’s findings regarding the number of bullying and discrimination incidents throughout the district.

“What I’m fearful of is that the report is minimizing the voices who are saying that they are not getting the support that they need. I also believe it’s very possible if you are a member of a marginalized group, if you’re a member of a group that experiences discrimination, that you
may be less likely to report.

“I do believe our educators are dynamite, but I also believe there’s a possibility that the support that they believe they are providing, there may be a mismatch between that and what students are receiving.

"Everybody can do better,” said Dr. Dell'Angelo. “Even if CBSD is dynamite in 99 ways there's got to be something we can do better. Instead of being reflective, we said we're going to dump a lot of money into a report and a law firm that's going to tell us what we want to hear.”

Rinaldi said his team purposely reached out to people on the other side of the issue, including Marlene Pray and the advisors to the gay straight alliance clubs at the middle and high schools, to get a full picture of what is taking place in the district.

When asked by Dr. Dell'Angelo about the discrepancy between reporting and comments being made at public meetings, Rinaldi said "specifics" matter.

“What’s important is what they saw and what they heard. When we asked them that question, witness after witness told us that they were not aware of a single instance of reported, unaddressed harassment or bullying anywhere in the district. You have those clubs at the middle and high school level that really provide a benefit. One witness actually told us that CBSD has actually been ahead of the curve on LGBTQ+ issues for a long time.”

Board member Dr. Mariam Mahmud disagreed that the district is “ahead of the curve” on LGTBQ+ issues. “I love our teachers. I love our administrators, but we are not ahead of the curve.

“It’s a regular reoccurring conversation here. They do not feel safe. They feel like they are marginalized. I see your research. I appreciate your work, but I’m not going to deny every individual who comes forward. They are not activists. They are not part of a group. I hear them. I value them,” she said.

“Why did we pursue this investigation?” pressed board member Karen Smith. “Why did we not as a board make a choice to follow the actions that the ACLU suggested?” She also wanted to know if the evidence uncovered as part of the investigation would be relevant to the OCR investigation?

"OCR is going to do what OCR wants to do, but the charge was to investigate the facts and to document them," said Rinaldi. "The board now has the benefit of the document analysis we did, the interviews that we did and I’m assuming that this will help the board address the OCR complaints and also make decisions going forward on how you address the various issues implicated by them."

Rinaldi said in addition to conducting the investigation, his team also cooperated with the Department of Education in producing voluminous documents for the federal agency.

"The DOE served on this district 156 separate document requests and subparts on these topics. We have responded to each and every one of them. And that’s one of the reasons why we had to spend the money we did," said Rinaldi. "It’s not just this investigation. It was responding to those
requests."

Board vice president Leigh Vlasblom agreed with her board colleagues that it’s "heartbreaking" to hear some of the comments coming from district students during board meetings.

“You might not agree with my decisions on policy, but you better believe that no child regardless of what they come into this district feeling or what their situation is should ever be mistreated," said Vlosblom. "And I don’t think there’s a person in this room, whether you agree with policy or not, that would ever sit idly by while a child was being mistreated.

"But Mrs. Smith, the shock is mutual when I saw your name (connected to one of the complaints)," continued Vlosblom. "I have a board member who lied to the federal government and in doing so has cost this district a million dollars ... Someone asked the question, 'Would you work here after this?' Personally I think there will be people wanting to work here because you have a board that if you come at my teachers, you come at my administrators, or you come at my children you better bet there is no price tag too big to protect them."