Lehighton School District responds to alleged hazing at middle school
An alleged hazing incident at Lehighton Area Middle School remains under investigation.
Concerned Voices for Lehighton Schools Facebook group posted on Monday: “There has been several incidents at the middle school that are playing out on social media.
“We have been reluctant to address them because we believe in the system. Is the system sometimes wrong? Yes. But overall the staff in our district works very hard for our children.”
The group alluded to the reputed hazing incident.
“Was there a hazing incident? Again we are not directly involved. But the incident involves children and again in the end any discipline will remain confidential (unless the families involved choose to make it public).”
The school district released the following statement late this morning:
"The LASD Administration was forwarded information of an incident that involved several MS (middle school) students. Immediately after the administration was notified, Lehighton School Police were contacted, along the Lehighton Borough Police.
"An internal investigation took place and is continuing to take place in compliance with school policy and procedures. Students' parents have been contacted and notified of this pending investigation. In addition to the investigation taking place within the school, the Lehighton Borough Police are conducting an investigation into the same incident.
"Student confidentiality laws prevent us from disclosing the identities of any students involved or the specified school discipline measures taken. Lehighton Area School District's primary responsibility is to provide a safe and secure environment for all children and we will continue to make a "good faith" effort to assure the safety of all students."
Borough police Chief Brian Biechy said police are not commenting at this time because the investigation is not complete.
Comments
The diffrence is I believe they did the right thing
But if I find out diffrently I will hold them accountable
But because you and others dont get answers right when you want them you think they are doing something wrong
But like I said before and you dont seem to get
If the cops are not done with their investigation you cant have all the information
It could ruin the investigation one way or another
And you are correct they should have a meeting about to make sure everything is being followed correctly JUST NOT WHILE THE INVESTIGATION IS STILL THE INVESTIGATION STAGE
I too have such optimism, UNTIL such time it is discovered that the individuals have acted immorally. Once they acted immorally or asked for immunity, I have the experiencd view to act with caution, and not give immoral people additional respect, or lattitude. I have the responsibility to act with fidelity, and therefore NOT provide a blind trust, but verify the actions of government.
Therefore, as these individuals do their jobs and serve the people we can provide lawful oversight without losing privacy. The laws on reporting suspected child abuse are well documented. Failure to follow these laws are failures to protect our children.
Please report every incident of abuse, specifically any first hand information regarding events documented in this article.
Tell the state police immediately, any and all information regarding these events concerning children being harmed in our government schools.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Well how do you know I am wrong and you are right is the investigation over with
Are you not asking for the same blind trust
That your assumption is right
How do you know they acted immorally in this situation
What laws specifically have you thought they have broken
Please be specific
The police were told as you stated in the beginning of this rant
Again what actions do you think this administration has broken
Please state them so we can question the administration on them
Dont make very general vague comment
We the community what actual policies
And actual path that you would take to change those polcies
In fact by getting the police involved they are not protecting anyone in this investigation from charges they are actually being very transparent
Doesn't this article confirm that the administration is operating a public goverent school where children are being harmed?
Isn't it obvious to you that the district board, and the district parents, and the district stakeholders are being obstructed from receiving lawful transparency? Providing lawful transparency, the big picture information, which would be related to the safety of all the other children in the district would help other parents and our community as a whole.
The lack of communication and lack of government oversight concerning these alleged repeated acts all lead to a failure in proper, moral, governance.
Merry Christmas to you and your family. Good for you to have open discussions. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed in what I see as your attitude towards lawful transparency.
But, every concerned parent has their point of view. Thank you for yours. Whereas your opinion is one of the most vocal, that in and of itself does not necessarily make it the best or most thoughtful opinion to consider. Glad you are sharing, please continue.
I believe the conversation is helpful. Remember, thousands of years ago leaders or "government" performed public sacrifices to have the crop grow, or the sun rise. Silly now, but it took many discussions to evolve past such tribal behaviors. This appears to me to be a similar evolution of a very dogmatic process. With each incident, we are changing the habits towards a more moral board.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
I am waiting on you to give me the evidence that they did anything wrong so what am I supposed to believe
Am I supposed to follow you blindly
Come on david
I'm not going any where
I want to know the truth as we all do
Stop the rants and read the next post.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
And the fact that you wont give this letter to the rest of the board it's just proves what you are about
Again you say you have this information
Just answer the questions that I have proposed to you
It's not that complicated
It is the moral thing to do. First hand evidence from yourself and/or your children can hopefully help prevent others from being harmed. If you need an attorney, several specialize in these areas of law.
Our community needs to protect our students while they are enrolled in our public, government schools. The entire staff are mandated to report and document sexual abuse incidence with the lawful authorities.
The 2-1/2 page letter I received was addressed to Citizen David F. Bradley Sr. and was subsequently given directly to the PA State Police, including the envelope. The letter was given to the PSP since it contained detailed information, morally required to be reported to the proper authorities.
The letter detailed alleged heinous acts including repeated sexual assaults and alleged sexual abuses of children on school property. Dates, incidences, supervisors actions and lack thereof alleged in the letter were properly documented.
While our district board majority gave their subordinate administration a blind trust, we as a board have apparently failed to provide proper oversight.
I have requested an emergency board meeting to seek stakeholders input. Student privacy is paramount.
The lawful transparency required by school policy should be properly and professionally provided to the public so they can participate in the protection of our students.
The board president, vice president, superintendent and others, all failed to respond to the request to host a public meeting. The public servants that the community elected to oversee the government schools need to be held accountable to the stakeholders as defined in PA School Code, their Oath and LASD policy.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You wont share with the remaining members of the board what was said in that letter
Not very transparent there david
According to school policy, the administration can legally 'monitor' all emails, without a RTK request, including the communications of the board, the management of the district. Another irrational policy needing revision. For that reason, email was not used, except to request an emergency meeting, which no response was received. Sad.
As a citizen, the letter was shared with the proper authorities. Lawful transparency and my oath also carry a responsibility of privacy to students and staff. Since the letter alleged district miss management, I believe the board should host an emergency meeting.
The question is will they? Lawful transparency serves the community and help reform the way our district handles complaints, provided the board acts morally.
This is bad, real bad. Chastise me if you wish, I have a rigid set of moral principles a thick skin my mom says broad shoulders to carry such burdens. Lobby your immoral board to host a meeting so we can correct this in the sunlight of a public meeting.
Stop spreading rumors, and please, let's protect the students and save the community. Rant, vent, scream, but after that, hold the line and demand a moral government of, by and for the people serve this community.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
And you answered my question you havent given the information to the other part of the board so you are not being transparent
who was your contact person at the PSP
What day was this letter given to PSP
Do you a specific time
Which barracks was this given too
The board majority apparently FAIlED to protect our students, blindly trusting those that appear to be untrustworthy.
Sadly, Larry, Wayne, Rita, and others were warned, and given numerous examples these past two years how rubber stamping subordinates has ended horrifically, a statewide problem. The have no wiggle room on this as I feel the board failed these people. I feel they failed the victims, the perpetrators, administration, staff and community by what I call their lack of moral governance. We can fix this by ending immorality and installing a moral government of, by and for the people.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
That makes completely no sense
I love how you called it spin and yet that is exactly what you are doing
They are, after all, the government that oversees the administration, the staff and all policy at the school level.
The immoral board needs to shed the secrecy, stop giving a blind-trust to the staff and promote legal transparency, promote a government of, by and for the people where student protection is paramount.
Hopefully, these immoral rubber stampers will put the student's protection first and host the meeting before school starts again.
I trust concerned parents would all promote legal transparency.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
They are the elected officials and have a responsible to act with fidelity. Rubber-stampers and blind trusts are not acting with fidelity. If it is found that the board allowed the administration to lead, failed to act, and ignored the public complaints leading up to this mess, they would most definitely be responsible to resolve the issues, so the students are protected and the community is saved. The board was warned of the consequences for acting immorally, sad, but it appears the students and community are currently suffering those consequences under a government hiding from accountability.
LCCC has civic classes if your are missing the point that the administration is governed by board policy, and the adjudicative authority over the administration's actions or lack thereof are that of the board (and in this case the State).
Time for some much needed moral and legal transparency.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
The information I have asked you a member of this board for
Like I said before trust goes a long way
You want the citzens of this community to have blind trust in you
You are making immoral accusations against people and this administration
With out proof and a simple way to get proof is to answer those simple questions so the citzens of this community can do their own research
Because you want to be dictator and run this board the way you want
So please answer the questions I have asked
What psp officer did you talk to
When did you send this
Where did you psp office did you send it to
You are making these accusations now when no one is the office administration building is in the office
And when the psp can or cant confirm if this letter even exists
So basically you want the citzens to make accusations against this administration without proof that this exists
You want us to trust you
You want us to have blind trust in you
But not them hmm
I think some one is trying to be very non transparent here
Those entrusted with the safety and protection of our students, athletes and staff should be held fully accountable.
All allegations concerning the implementation of LASD policy should be addressed immediately by the board, so the parents can properly participate in the protection of their children.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
What policy
No offense, but can you please stop asking government to solve problems as a Dictator or Authoritarian entity.
Directors are public servant. One of the problems we need to resolve BTW is that immoral directors used their authority to rubber stamp the very people they were elected to oversee. The blind-trust was obviously miss placed.
I have plenty of experience handling such matters professionally, as a Christian business owner. And, if in the private sector, information would not be hidden from management, and accountability would be swiftly applied. However, given the autrocities and failures of the immoral board, we should host a meeting and listen first, as we are public servants. You do understand that, right? You understand we are in America where our government has policy and laws that rule the day? Right? With the stakeholders as the primary management group, and the government can not take a single action without first listening to the public. (Sunshine Act and all).
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Give us a name
You want us the citzens to follow and believe what you say without any way of actually fi doing out what you said is true
But I repeat how do we know what you are saying morally right
I am a citizen until in a duly authorized meeting with a quorum. Then, and only then, do I have the any authority to act as one of the nine board members, that comprise your government.
Please stop asking for your public servants to rule over you. You are an American citizen that elected a government of, by and FOR the people right?
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
I am asking you to prove you have done what you said you did
You want people to follow you blindly why is that
I want people to participate in keeping their government moral, transparent and lawful.
You know, not immoral zealots giving their blind-trust to an administration they were elected to oversee.
And, Larry Stern should trust but verify, the information his wife's boss the superintendent shares, since there appears to be a gaps in Larry's truthfulness and trustworthiness.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
I called the psp they cant answer and I called the administration building there was no one to answer my questions
There seems to gaps in truthfulness
You cant seem to answer any of the questions brought on by me a citzen of this community
You try and manipulate things to fit your agenda
And you want people to blind trust you when you havent been forthcoming with the information you say you have
And when you have information you try and sneak things into motions to make sure your agenda is going thru
Try this. Lobby the immorals to having a board meeting, an official government meeting.
In a meeting we are all protected to share information with each other and our bosses.
The Stakeholders are the boss over the board, the board over the administration and the staff. Each answering all your questions with lawful transparency.
Go read the past hundred or so statements in this post. Boy, you really don't get it do you?
Here we have a prime example, students harmed and an article full of excuses lacking lawful transparency.
Lobby for the emergency board meeting. Get the facts, reform government.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Good evening. To be clear, citizens do not have any responsibility to answer you or anyone else for that matter.
Yet, as a government official, not only do I have to answer to you, every question, I'd have to answer all the stakeholders, and do so to the laws and LASD policy. Being a person of character, the responsibility to honor my oath of office is also an obligation.
If only Larry, Rita, Wayne and Steve had the same character. They ignored the request to hold an emergency meet.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Give me a break
You are lying to the people stop the bull crap
2nd as much as you dont want to admit it you are a board member you have responsibility to us the citzens of this community
So answer the questions as a board member
So when you tried to manipulate a motion to fit your narrative was that citzen bradley or board member bradley
Dont you have a responsibility to give us all the information when you are in a quorum during board meetings.
Or is it ok to lie to the people
Is it ok for you not to be transparent
Should I just have blind trust and follow everything you say
Or should I hold the board members accountable for their actions
- Email invite sent, Joy Rich, Gail and myself all responded Yes to an emergency meeting
Give me a break
-. *break* just for you
So answer the questions as a board member
- Ok, I will. You get the immorals to agree to an emergency meeting, then I, as a board member and can answer.
Or should I hold the board members accountable for their actions
- Yeah, do that one. Hold them accountable for The budget, the tax increases and wildly
Are you ever a board member
Because it would seem by your placard that you put in front of yourself during board meetings it still says citizen David Bradley
So if you have no intentions of ever being a board member and to Serve the People of this community then I think you should resign
Like I've said you are a member of this board you answer to me if I have a question and I want to hold you accountable I should be able to do that just like you want to hold the rest of the board accountable for their actions I'm going to continue to do the same thing if you don't like it if you don't want to be a board member if you don't want to ask questions then resign
Quorum = Government
All else = Citizen Dave
Your arguments contradict the law and common sense. Try a civics class.
Last word.
Again I can watch all videos of board meetings of the placard with the name citizen David Bradley on it
In the last board meeting why didnt you answer the questions of the citzens of this community
I believe when asked a question from the citzens you didnt answer not until you were pushed to answer did you finally do so
But you dont answer questions from citzens during the meetings so again when are you going to be a board member who serves all the citzens
Including the ones who may disagree with you
Not so transparent
Oh my God, please tell me it is true.
I mean it, just imagine if Andrew Yenser was to start coming board meeting and started asking questions of the board members, I would love it.
Or how about a truly experienced and knowledgeable stakeholders would be like, Mr. Bradley did you review the bills prior to your vote for payment? And I'd be like, "No, stakeholder, the district blocked my access." And then the stakeholder would be all proud, making statements like, are you voting to not pay the staff just because the the payments are not reviewed first? How funny would that be? Hypothetically, of course, but how funny would that be?
Or asking to have irrelevant things repeated, over and over, ad nauseum. Unbelievable, very funny.
That must be as funny as asking, why do you want to see all the bills? Or, wait. Why did you want to see all the payments priors to making them? Classic. How about, why do you want to seeing the entire bank statements?
Or seeing all the applications of prospective hires. Oh, please tell me and an experienced audience member would be all serious, but set me up by asking things like:
Mr. Bradley, why would you want to attend the non published, therefore secret, personnel committee meeting that reviews the actions of our staff or recommends new hires? Or better yet why do you want to hold staff accountable to protect of our students? Don't you trust your staff and administration? It would be having a Gracie for my Allen, but for super serious stuff like the educational benefits of special needs, or holding staff accountable to provide supervision to students.
Wait, how about: Mr Bradley, are you saying you don't believe Larry Stern's wife's boss the Superintendent? How dare you even ask such a question of such a person? How dare you try to pin jello to a wall. Why don't you just rubber stamp everything? Do you expect to have subordinates verify themselves with published checks and balances in a government system? Mr Bradley, can you please stop asking questions? I love it.
Then when a local company offers a free service, the analysis and review of an existing million dollar vendor, and the person allude to the idea that, no, the contract shouldn't be reviewed regularly, as if a review would be unfair. Mr. Bradley why would you want to review the contracts of multi-million dollar contracts? Are you some kind of business person that believe in transparency? What is wrong with you, Mr. Bradley, why won't you be a blind trusting rubber stamper?
And then imigine if the failed past treasurer pipes in and agrees, the board should not review the vendor.
Ha, I am crying from laughter. So funny. Just thinking of how the most recent failed past board treasurer, Andrew Yenser, used to say he reviewed the bills every month. I thought he actually got mad that I even asked. So funny.
Oh, then only to have the new business manager claim the old business manager did things differently.
I feel it is clearly stated in the code that the responsibility of the treasurer is to account for all the funds collected and disbursed, and the treasurer is responibile to personally sign all disbursements.
Andrew Yenser was our past board treasurer. I so glad he has been added to the long list of people not on this board any more.
How funny would it be if an obsessive supporter of the rubber stampers would critize my actions like they were bad, and transparency is bad.
How funny would it be for an ex-board member, or such a citizen, that gets mad at board members who asks questions? Or mad a board member waited to lobby a political point prior to providing an answer.
Oh, God in heaven, please let it be that Andrew Yenser's actions as a government official are transparently exposed in every board meeting from now to the end of my term. (- that was a prayer to the Almighty Himself.
Sorry, but your comment stuck a cord of laughter that will entertain me for decades to come.
Now to answer your question. Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus, and Yes, Director Bradley, and all the Directors are responsible to answer the stakeholders in a public meeting.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Haha, one more. Mr Bradley you ask this same question every month. Haha, reminds me of Banyon, it's the best Jerry (Seinfeld), the best.
I am not anyone who is a part of the board or administration
I have said that over and over
Well depending on policy hiring and firing can and should be done executive meeting and should never done in public
What is the policy on when and where hiring and firing of personnel to be done ?
I am not saying transparency is bad I am saying you are a hypocrite and don't actually follow the things you actually say
Like I said numerous times before I will and have been the first one to come to criticize this Administration and board when I believe they are doing something wrong and I'm the first one to come and put them on the back when I believe that they're doing something correct unfortunately for the situation right now I don't know either I don't know if they're wrong I don't know if they're right I don't know what happened I'm not going to make an assumption based on hearsay to say that there was something done wrong or something done right because I don't know the facts you on the other hand are making assumptions
If you are calling for transparency and you want us to do our research it don't blind trust people and you should be the most transparent person on the board you should not hide anything you should answer all questions no matter if it's citizen David Bradley or board member David Bradley you would want to answer all questions I give all the details that you possibly can so we as Citizens can bake a honest Judgment of what's going on but no you just want to play politics
It appears you are stating I answered the person, but prior, felt I didn't answer the citizen?
Are you concerned with the timing to which I provided an answer? If so, call it a political pause, exposing the lack of goverance by our immoral board.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Oh not to mention I believed you were very mature and answered one letter at a time
David you cant say it was immoral when you tried to pass a motion without giving all the details of the citzens and to the rest if the board
You had no intention of giving the name of the company until pressed
Are you saying your playing politics with the safety of our kids and the the finances of our school district
So what you are saying is you dont care about these things it's just politics and you are pretending to care got it
Good evening. If you talk to Andrew Yenser, tell his family I said, Hi. I like them, I feel they are very good people.
I support of every citizen, and every business the applys efforts to bringing transparency to our government of, by and for the people.
My God Bless all good citizens of our great Nation.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
That you will answer questions from people who support you but when asked a question from someone who doesnt support you you refuse to answer how is that supporting all citzens
Do you support me I am trying to make you more transparent
Let's assemble some questions for the administration to answer.
Where these students under the supervision of staff?
Where these repeated incidences as the letter alleged, or a single incident, as the letter to the board from the administration apparently alleged?
Did the discipline administered by the administration follow school policy?
Was the discipline applied fairly, and equally under the law, LASD policy?
And some for the individual board members to answer.
Who was responsible for students gaining access or entering the area where the alleged Incident (s) occurred?
How, when was the board notified of incident(s) occuring on school property?
Did the administration notify any individuals on the board, prior to the board as a whole?
Did the Solicitor advise the board, how and when?
Did the Solictor advise the Administration, how and when?
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
How do we know there is a letter
Did you actually send a letter to the administration
What police officer did you send the letter too
When did you ask for a public meeting
You can clear all those questions up yourself
We can ask all those questions when the investigation is over until then why dont we create policies that we think may been broken and try and figure out ways to make them stronger
Again instead of sitting around complaining show so leadership actually do something besides blame people
Imagine if all your elected officials were strong enough in character to oppose the corrupt forces.
Imagine if your entire board just simply honored their oath of office.
At least we can still pray at home for a moral board. God Bless America and the idea of a government of, by and for the people.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
This whole conversation was based on that
You want transparency from the board while being on the board and not giving it
You dont want people to have blind trust
But expect people to have blind trust in you
You dont like dictators but try and be a dictator yourself
David You have tried to promote stuff that you dont follow you are corrupt you are apart of the problem and you havent followed your oath office
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Are you trying to to mislead the citzens of the community or just down right lie to them
Stop playing politics and seeking to discredit me, as that is futile. Focus on protecting the students and saving the community.
Rubuke, sanction, censure, sued, and resolutions written can't lawfully stop a Director committed to a Oath of Office with a moral standard to protect the students and save the community. Hopefully, you will at least concede the fight against a government providing lawful transparency.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
What psp barracks did you send it too
What police officer did you give it to
These are all questions that you can answer lawfully and transparently
I am only asking questions to you just as you would the board
I'm not playing politics I am holding my elected officials accountable
David again I hold this government accountable when I feel they did something
As it stands right now as I have said now 10 times I want to know all the facts before making that decsions
That means getting information from people that say they have new information
You just want people to blindly follow you and believe everything you say isnt that exactly what you say is wrong with the other half is doing
Again you are completely correct about children and teachers having rights that is why you wont say you are speaking as a board member that is why they are not talking about what happned
You are using this platform to get your narrative out knowing the administration will not talk about this and spread rumors
So again not transparent
I wish Andrew's relative by marriage, Director Wayne Wentz, would do the same and voice support of protecting the students and expose the failures that resulted in the incident(s) documented in this article.
How great would it be for Larry Stern to get a profile at the Times News? Just imagine the communications concerning student safety if Larry Stern and his wife's boss the Superintendent would share lawful transparency so the parents can help protect the children from heinous acts.
Do you think Rita Spinelli takes actions as a government official to protect the students and save the community?
Commenters on this article appear to have some good views regarding protect the students. I wonder why they think about the other directors?
Are the rubber-stampers immune to critical review by plausible deniability?
When is looking the other way not a moral action? When children are being harmed, is it ok to blindly trust the system?
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.