In June, an [unidentified in the article] 4th grade teacher was arrested. The next day the district attorney commissioned a grand jury to investigate the rumors that the school officials knew about the abuse long before it was reported. It turned out to be true.
The grand jury report was released, and among their findings:
Between February and March, school officials were told six times by students and teachers that a fourth-grade teacher may have sexually molested students. They completely ignored most of the complaints.
On one occasion, students went to see a school administrator to talk about the charges. They were sent back to their class because they didn't have a pass or the permission of the suspected teacher.
Fallsburg district administrators and union representatives deliberately decided not to tell parents or police that this teacher was suspected of molesting children.
The children never received any counseling until seven weeks after school officials became convinced of the credence of the sexual-abuse reports. Even then, school officials never told the parents that their children may have been abused.
The grand jury said no illegal acts had been committed, but argued that did not exonerate the School District from accountability.
