September 24th / 26th
"School System, Teacher, Vindicated"
I take no pride in telling Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill
and the SBI, "I told you so", but, "I told you so".
In an earlier column I advised that the DA and the SBI take a step back
from their investigation of school officials, and just let educators and law
enforcement work together to reach a consensus on when and how to deal with
allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers.
Instead, the D.A. sought to punish certain school officials for not
adhering to a new state policy of reporting crimes to police in a timely fashion.
But the new law is open to interpretation because it requires a school
principal to report a criminal act to police, and very rarely does a principal
have firsthand knowledge that any act has been committed. Also, there was
confusion over whether "act" meant an actual act, or an "allegation" of an
act. That's why the previous reporting process used by the Winston-Salem,
Forsyth school system was the best approach.
Under that policy, if an incident was reported to a principal, then the
principal reported it to Superintendent Don Martin and/or to school attorney
Drew Davis. Davis would then question the parties involved to determine if
that case merited involvement of law enforcement. It was the medical
equivalent of how emergency room doctors assess and triage a patient before
ordering radical surgery. A preliminary investigation by school officials
protects both students and teachers, and can determine if allegations were "acts"
that warrant police involvement.
Last week I warned that the new policy would result in persecution and
prosecution of innocent teachers, and I cited an international study which
reported that over 70% of sexual abuse allegations against male teachers prove
to be false. Well, guess what? Jason Ford, the Wiley middle school teacher
who was accused of sexual misconduct by five students, has been cleared of
any wrongdoing. Police discovered what Davis already knew, that the
students were angry over having been disciplined by Ford, so they framed him for
criminal acts which he didn't commit. This is exactly why principals
shouldn't be made to turn a teacher over to police without first being able to
ask for an internal investigation.
Yes, prosecutors and police know how to deal with criminals, but
principals, superintendents and school attorneys know the personal histories of
students and teachers, and can better assess who, if anyone, may have engaged
in criminal behavior.
I only hope that O'Neil and the SBI have the decency to publicly apologize
to Davis and Ford, and that they will drop their investigation
immediately. A little egg on your face now is much better for the community than
continuing a retroactive witch hunt of school officials.
In the meantime, Mr. Ford has been told to return to teaching as if
nothing happened. But something did happen, and someone needs to pay for the
damage done to Ford's reputation and career. Same goes for Davis, who was
suspended by the Board of Education because he was being investigated. Both Ford
and Davis incurred legal fees which should be reimbursed by the District
Attorney and the State. The two men also have the makings of a legitimate
lawsuit, but if legal fees are paid and apologies issued, perhaps no legal
action will be pursued.
And that brings us to those five darling brats whose false accusations
could have sent an innocent man to jail. These kids should first be made to
write a formal apology to Mr. Ford, and pay for it to be placed prominently
in the Winston-Salem Journal. Next, they should be expelled from Wiley,
not suspended. The expulsion should last for one year, during which time they
would be located to an alternative school so they can keep up with their
studies. While attending the alternative school, they should be ordered to
perform eight hours of community service on the weekends. After the year is
up, they will return to school, but not to the same school. These students
nearly ruined a man's life, so they must be separated, and sent to
different schools from here on out, where they will be less likely to gang up on
anyone else.
Finally, the State Board of Education should see this fiasco as a
teachable moment, and quickly move to amend their new reporting policy, so that
school officials are given the latitude they need in dealing with accusations
and allegations. After all, a little triage can prevent a lot of
unnecessary pain.
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