Teacher under investigation in McKeesport

An allegation of sexual misconduct was received this week via ChildLine.

Solicitor Gary Matta addressed sexual misconduct allegations against a district teacher at Thursday’s meeting of the McKeesport Area school board.

According to Matta, the district was notified of the incident through ChildLine, a statewide child protective services program. Matta declined to identify which school the teacher is from, but the employee is on paid leave while an investigation is being conducted.

“We take very serious all of those issues, any Child-Line issue that comes before the district, we immediately address it. We remove that person,” Matta said. “But you know, we are in the United States of America, and people are entitled to due process. A lot of allegations are found to be untrue. I’m not saying that these are true or untrue, but we are going to protect that person’s identity.

“Clearly, we’re doing a full investigation, and so as the authorities do the full investigation, once that is completed, we’ll take the appropriate action. That employee is not in the district at this time.”

This is the school district’s second investigation this year regarding sexual misconduct allegations. Previous allegations led to the resignation of former superintendent Tia Wanzo for failing to report an incident, and three district employees were put on unpaid leave.

“My normal process in all my school districts, if there’s a ChildLine issue, we naturally take that person out of contact with students during that time frame, until we make sure that those allegations are appropriate,” Matta said.

Matta added that no charges have been filed and the allegations were made in Child-Line less than 48 hours ago.

School district addresses language barriers

The board on Thursday also discussed some of the progress the district has made in addressing some of the language barriers in the district.

Board member Matthew Keller said they recently hired a district interpreter, aimed at helping with Spanish- speaking families and students.

Keller also added that they’re working toward hiring more staff to help overcome some of the language issues. The board also discussed the availability of interpreter services being provided during parent-teacher conferences.

“We kind of got approached about the growing issue, we know they’re a growing population. So obviously we’re kind of trying to be as proactive as we possibly can,” Keller said. “So as of right now, we hired the individual that she’s kind of servicing the district. Mr. (Matthew) Mols (assistant to the superintendent) has been working with the Latino community center to find an advocate, and then we’re also going to reach out to retiree Spanish teachers to try to provide a service in every school to bridge the gap.”

In other business, the board announced that its next Dick’s Foundation community listening session will take place Oct. 29 at the main pavilion in Renziehausen Park. The event will start at 5:45 p.m. and run until 7:30 p.m.

The board also approved:

• Hiring Jocelyn Sabruno as head principal of Twin Rivers Elementary School with a yearly salary of $105,000.

• An agreement with Penn State University for a student teaching program that started Aug. 1 and will continue until June 30, 2029.

• An agreement with Duquesne Light Company to provide outdoor lighting along O’Neil Boulevard at a utility cost of $143.63 per month.

• A memorandum of understanding with Youth Guidance for the operation and implementation of the Becoming A Man program effective from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026.

• A field trip for band and guard students to attend the Bands of America competition Saturday in Newark,

Del.