DD2 Officials: Failure to report abuse/neglect lead to administrators’ removal
Published Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:06 PM
Summerville Journal Scene ®
Updated: Oct. 20 at 7:07 p.m.
On Tuesday night, Dorchester District 2 officials released a statement regarding the removal of three Knightsville Elementary School administrators from their posts.
The statement reads in part: “The Knightsville Elementary School administrative team received knowledge of an alleged abuse/neglect incident perpetrated by a teaching assistant at that school. After a thorough investigation, it was determined the administrative team failed to report the alleged abuse/neglect to appropriate authorities, and they were reassigned in the district. Appropriate disciplinary actions were also taken for other persons involved.”
Late last week, Knightsville Elementary School principal Anita Ruff-Putillion and assistant principals Mary Rita Watson and Les Kephart were removed from their positions.
On Tuesday morning, Pat Raynor, District 2 public information officer, said she remains unsure to which schools the three outgoing administrators will be sent and doesn’t know what their positions at those schools will be. The statement released Tuesday night did not contain this information either.
The statement goes on to read: “Teachers, school counselors, principals and assistant principals are specifically listed in State law (63-7-310, S.C. Code) as mandatory reporters for child abuse and neglect. Persons in these positions are required to personally report to local law enforcement or the local Department of Social Services if they have suspicions or knowledge that a child may have been abused or neglected. Mandatory reporters need only to have a suspicion of abuse or neglect in order to make a report. Law enforcement and the Department of Social Services have been informed and will further investigate this matter.”
Knightsville’s new principal is Wally Baird, who was working as an assistant principal at Beech Hill Elementary School. Claire Sieber and Nicole Ramsey, who were assistant principals at Spann Elementary School and Newington Elementary School, respectively, have assumed the assistant principal positions at Knightsville.
On Monday, Baird said no children inquired about the previous administration and that the mood in the school was “positive, upbeat and enthusiastic.”
Parents of students at Knightsville were notified of the changes Monday. A meet-and-greet with the new administrative team will be held for parents in the near future, Raynor said.
Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com
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Typical if you ask me
Friday, October 23, 2009 10:38 AM
I have had children in the school district for years. I don't know why everyone brags on DD2 so much. I don't see how they get away with charging $20 to every student when no other district does it. I know that has nothing to do with the situation at hand but they do all kinds of things that make me wonder why people move into this district for the schools. My daughter had someone make a very serious sexual gesture at her on the bus and they didn't do anything but kick him off the bus for 2 days. Until I called the cops. She wouldn't go back to school the following year and I had to home school her for a year and get her counseling. The only principal who really helped me was Wally Baird. He is wonderful and Beech Hill lost a great administrator when they sent him away and brought Anita Ruff to our school. I think as tax paying citizens we have a right to know what is going on from the get go so that inuendo's like on this page and second guessing don't have to happen. People...wake up because DD2 is not great like you think. Show up at a school board hearing sometime.
Posted by: LB
Thursday, October 22, 2009 6:23 PM
Were the claims of abuse invetigated? What were the findings?
Posted by: Just Curious
Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:40 PM
Issue: No new class was created at OES. The class was taken over by a wonderful person!
Posted by:
Simple Facts
Thursday, October 22, 2009 2:20 PM
It's irresponsible for the public to pass judgement on what has or has not happened at KES. We don't know enough details. The only problem I have with this is that DD2 has chosen to act without giving a more detailed explination. I personally do not believe that either of these three would intentionally place a child in danger. My child has never had a negative thing to say about any of them. More details could be released without violating anyones privacy, evidently it would take more time to prepare a proper statement than the DD2 team feels that we are worth, or perhaps some of the posters here are correct in the thought that the main concern for the district is thier reputation.
Posted by:
Thursday, October 22, 2009 8:45 AM
BHES lost a great asst. principal in Baird. Its sad that they lost such a great person and had to take someone else's rejects. Not fair to have other schools lose people and replace them with incompetent administrators.
Posted by:
Thursday, October 22, 2009 6:48 AM
I see DSS getting a flood of business. Every bruise, scratch, or idle comment will be reported. Don't get me wrong, as a parent I am the very concerned for any child's welfare. But there has to be common sense applied to all situations. Overreacting is not the way to go. If you knew any of these three andmistrators you would know that it is incomprehensible that they would knowingly let a child be in danger and would be the first to take action.
Posted by:
Issue
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:54 PM
The issue that i'm having is the way that the district handled the situation. First, they showed up at a school to announce to a staff that their administration team will be removed from their position. Next, they bring in an administration team from other schools in the district. When did they have the time to conduct interviews? I don't think it was right for them to place a person in a principal's position without following the proper procedures. Technically, he should have been an "interim" principal until everyone interested had the opportunity to apply. Does he know the budget? Did he know where to pick up? Third, they placed these former administrators into schools in the district where i'm pretty sure parents know why they're there---plus, a 5th grade class had to be formed at OES meaning that students were pulled out of other 5th grade classes to be in the "newly formed" class. Parents are irritated because they're child is now in someone's class who was an "accessory" in a possible abuse/neglect case. I'm guessing no one at the D.O. took the time to think things through. Does this make sense? I'm just irritated with the whole situation and how it was handled. I think this siutuation would not have been much of an issue if it was handled properly.
Posted by: Concerned citizen
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:18 PM
WOW!!! DD2 STUFF FINALLY GOT OUT!! THEY LIKE TO COVER UP THERE STUFF AND THINK THEY ARE THE BEST SCHOOL DISTRICT AROUND! FINALLY IT IS ALL COMING OUT...WONDER HOW JOE FEELS ABOUT THIS!!!!
Posted by:
Circle the wagons
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:54 PM
Public education is good. Public education is good. Repeat after me..
Posted by: Ward Bond
Yes, but...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:30 PM
Since DD2 has elected to not inform parents, we have no idea what we're dealing with, do we? From a parental point of view, it's very simple: Something happened that was serious enough to warrant the removal of 3 educators from KES. What, does the offending behavior magically disappear once reassigned to new schools? If my children are at risk, I need to know!
Posted by:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:43 PM
Let's stop with the "Lynch Mob" mentality people!!!!These are three wonderful professionals that went above and beyond in their few short years here! They touched all our lives and hearts and are terribly missed. We can't ALL be such bad judges of character!So please stop your speculating and go on with your lives........... There is NO smoking gun!
Posted by: Deb Nease
What about Beech Hill, Spann & Newington?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:10 PM
I'm curious to know how long these three schools will be without senior leadership since their APs were sent to Knightsville? I'm hoping SJS will publish follow-up stories that discuss leadership changes at Beach Hill, Spann & Newington.
Posted by:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:51 PM
I just hope all the people on this blog spend as much time with their children as they do posting nonsense.
Posted by:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:45 AM
Although I understand the public's need/right to know the details, the fact is that Personnel issues are very complicated. There are Privacy Acts the district has to follow. If you feel so strongly that School Administrators are public servants and not district employees and should be held to the same standards as elected officials, call your congressman and work to have those laws changed. In this case, it looks like the facts are fairly easy to see whether you want to admit it or not. There were allegations of abuse of a student by a teaching assistant. The administrators did not report it. (The allegations don't need to be proven true or untrue, they simply MUST be reported to proper authorities) If it were properly reported, then we wouldn't even be talking about it. Forget how much you like them or how wonderful you think they are.... What if this was YOUR child? And what if the allegations are TRUE?? I'm happy to know that the district has turned the matter over to law enforcement and DSS. If the allegations turn out to be true, those involved in not reporting should be charged with Accessory to Child Abuse, that is how serious this is.
Posted by:
Not a smart move
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:21 AM
I'm usually very supportive of DD2 administration, but I feel this situation has been very poorly handled. Parents need to be informed of the facts surrounding this incident. (There may be other victims, after all.) If the circumstances warranted the removal of these three from KES, how can they safely be reassigned elsewhere without endangering other students?
Posted by: Concerned Parent
Right to Know
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:10 AM
I don't think that disciplinary action of a pretty significant nature to remove someone from a position should be done in the dark of night with no public knowledge and multiple, different stories in the paper. Plus, since the real story is unknown, should those 3 administrators be at the other schools? Why not make it public where they are? DD2 has to know where people were moved around. Wouldn't it be smarter to move them to administrative positions in the office until this issue is settled?
Posted by: Jason G
Stop and Think
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7:47 AM
Why should anyone be shocked that the district would release just enough information to gain public support? Before you light your torch, stop and think. Do you really think that 3 administrators would knowingly put a child at risk?
Posted by:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:31 PM
No one would have jumped the gun or speculated if they were informed by the school board before the SJS got the scoop. Why were the staff, parents and community of Knightsville not respected by the school board enough to be told what was going on at the school and what would happen to the Administration. Not only does the people not have the right last name but they also have the wrong address.
Posted by:
truth AND reality
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:11 PM
Reputation and record does not matter. The law says the suspicion of abuse must be reported. Allegations need to be handled without delay. No exceptions. Was the assistant even removed temporarily? Is an investigation under way now? If the law is not followed, it has no teeth, and kids aren't protected. I don't like the way they did it, but DD2 had no choice but to take swift and immediate action.
Posted by:
PR
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 10:51 PM
The DD2 spokesperson should be a public information officer more than a public relations promoter. Of course she wants to put the district in the best light, but stonewalling or failing to release facts that the public has a right to know are unacceptable and rightfully incur the public's wrath.The district is overly concerned about its image these days. It botched the Obama speech controversy and now this situation. The District needs to brush up on crisis management.
Posted by:
truth
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 10:35 PM
Those of us who know the teaching assistant realize this person would never harm a child.Maybe the administration didnt report it because there was no abuse.Do you really think that all these people would would just stand by while our children are being hurt?
Posted by: parent
Poorly Handled by DD2!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 10:24 PM
The main concern here is children and doing what we can to protect them! Bottom line, this situation was handled inappropriately by the District! Why was this in the paper before students and parents were notified??? If the abuse/neglect went unreported by the administrators intentionally, why would you place them in other schools? I have to agree with one of the comments below...someone must have the "right name" to cause this type of reaction. The truth will come out and the unjust will not prevail.
Posted by: Very Displeased Parent
walk a mile
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:47 PM
re: the posts on the spokesperson. Try walking a mile in a spokesperson's shoes. The children and their safety come first and I am sure there is a lot going on behind the scenes to make sure our kids are safe.
Posted by:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:32 PM
I'm sure they probably turned a blind eye to the teaching assistant that is the way the district office works!
Posted by:
More importantly
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:27 PM
What I'd like to know is what happened to the teaching assistant who alledgedly "perpetrated the abuse". Did the former administration take measures to ensure that employee could not harm other students, or did they turn a blind eye?
Posted by:
Privacy Shouldn't Be a Luxury
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:22 PM
The law states that even a suspicion must be reported and that was not done.This is a law that everyone in DD2 knows well. In abuse cases, slow action can be deadly. The three, by their failure, became accessories. As for personnel privacy, this is a major issue that must be discussed because it is a community concern, the removal effects many students at KES, and needs to be an example. They should be charged under the statute. I'm not sure they should be retained in the district in any capacity. And I bet the next possible abuse case in DD2 will be reported with lightning speed.
Posted by:
Credibility
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 8:08 PM
I find it odd that the spokesperson for the school district doesn't know where the 3 administrators were placed? This speaks volumes to the credibility of the administrative office.
Posted by:
Personnel
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:44 PM
If you have ever had any experience whatsoever with personnel issues, you know they are sensitive and certain facts, by law, cannot be revealed or the organization revealing them then becomes liable themselves for revealing the information that the public demands. It is a complex issue. I just can't believe that people are so enraged over this issue when D-2 has been the beacon of this area in terms of providing a high quality education for all it's students. "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone..." - Well, there are a LOT of "so called" saints out there I guess...
Posted by:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:44 PM
Do you really think that if abuse was really happening that the three would not have reported it? They might have been researching the problem instead of jumping the gun like DD2!
Posted by:
You gotta be kidding!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:40 PM
Failure to report neglect or abuse! No way unless some one does have the "right" last name. Adminstrators at elementary, middle and High School levels fail to report neglect and abuse EVERY DAY! No way is that that the reason the whole administrative staff was removed!
Posted by: Would LOVE to know what is really going on!!
Moved Admins
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:40 PM
The 3 Admins in question are still employeed by DD2. Anita Ruff-Putillion(Beech Hill Elem- Asst P.) Mary Rita Wilson (Oakbrook Elem - 5th grade teacher) Les Kephart (Greg Middle)
Posted by:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:39 PM
The truth will still come out, you can't think for one minute that this is the truth. DD2 is trying to cover their rear ends!
Posted by:
Timing is Everything
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:37 PM
Excuse me, but all the innuendo and gun jumping could have been prevented if Joe Pye and Pat Raynor had been forthcoming with details IMMEDIATELY rather than allowing the pot to brew.
Posted by:
Well, there you go
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:33 PM
See, if you let enough time pass, wait patiently, not too long, just a few hours, and let the trusted system work, you will get the information needed to make an informed comment. Everyone LOVES to jump the gun, create innuendo and stir trouble. It is so easy to 2nd guess and have 20/20 hindsight without all the facts, I guess....
Posted by:
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