Mullica kindergarten teacher suspended in 'sexual play' case can keep job
Mullica Township kindergarten teacher Kelly Mascio, who was suspended after she found that two 5-year-olds had engaged in sexual play in a classroom bathroom, and promptly reported the incident.
A
decision by an arbitrator appointed by the state Department of
Education on the fate of 16-year veteran teacher Kelly Mascio, of
Mullica Township, was finalized Monday, but the state Department of
Education had not yet made it publicly available by 3 p.m.
“Initially
we can say that the tenure charges were not upheld and that Ms. Mascio
will be reinstated to her position,” said Mullica Township Education
Association President Barbara Rheault. But she could not comment in more
detail, as she had not yet had a chance to review the decision.
“We
do believe, as we have all along, that the Administration’s handling of
this case was appallingly egregious, and it is unfortunate that the
taxpayers of Mullica Township will have to pay hefty legal fees due to
the complete mishandling of this situation,” Rheault said.
Superintendent
Brenda Harring-Marro, who had suspended Mascio immediately after the
Sept. 30, 2013 incident, released a one-line statement: “The Board of
Education is in receipt of Arbitrator Brent's Decision and will
implement it in accordance with the law,” she wrote in an email.
”I’m
ecstatic for Kelly. I knew from the beginning it would work out in her
favor,” said friend Jaime Cirillo, of Mullica Township, whose daughter
had Mascio as her second grade teacher about five years ago. “The
arbitrator listened with fair, clear ears and mind and was able to see
Kelly for what she is worth. All we have been asking for from the
beginning was that Kelly be put back into the classroom where she
belonged, and he did it.”
Cirillo said the tenure charge process has been a strain on everyone.
“It’s been a humongous waste of time and money,” she said. “But I’m so happy for Kelly. It’s finally over.”
The Press is still awaiting calls back from school board attorney Will Donio, Mascio and her attorney Michael Damm.
The
school district had moved to take away her tenure and fire her after
the September 30, 2013, incident, alleging she failed to supervise her
students.
Mascio was initially suspended with pay by Harring-Marro, who then brought tenure charges to the school board.
After the school board voted to certify the charges at the end of February, her suspension became unpaid.
Teachers,
parents and other supporters started a campaign in support of Mascio,
attending school board meetings to speak in her favor and holding
fundraisers to help her pay her bills. Bright yellow “We Support Kelly”
yard signs cropped up all over the township, and in surrounding
communities.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/mullica-kindergarten-teacher-suspended-in-sexual-play-case-can-keep/article_a9e8191c-fb07-11e3-8415-0019bb2963f4.html
RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE START OF THE CASE CAN BE FOUND AT
http://gadfly01.blogspot.com/2014/02/tenure-charges-filed-against-mullica.html
NJ.com article with comments
http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2014/06/mullica_township_teacher_who_reported_kindergarten_sex_wont_lose_job.html
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/mullica-kindergarten-teacher-suspended-in-sexual-play-case-can-keep/article_a9e8191c-fb07-11e3-8415-0019bb2963f4.html
RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE START OF THE CASE CAN BE FOUND AT
http://gadfly01.blogspot.com/2014/02/tenure-charges-filed-against-mullica.html
NJ.com article with comments
http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2014/06/mullica_township_teacher_who_reported_kindergarten_sex_wont_lose_job.html
33 comments:
Too bad that the BoE didn't have clear minds and ears from the beginning. All this world wide publicity could brought on by Marro could have been avoided.
Congratulations Kelly! Now, rest up ! Enjoy time with your family and community!
A good point was made that the taxpayers of Mullica are going to have to pay a hefty legal fee because of this situation.
We will suffer,Kelly has certainly been put through the mill, the teachers have been put under terrific stress and the person who started the whole mess with a false police report gets a promotion to principal of the whole school by Marro.
Something is not right here. WAKE UP BOARD OF EDUCATION
Now Kelly will have to pay back her unemployment she has been collecting since February. Did you know that when you felt sorry for her and helped raise money so she could go to Disney while she was off.
OMG! Marro sent an email to the Press. I hope all our addresses weren't attached.
5:58PM
I don't know anything about unemployment or if the school will have to reimburse Kelly for the last school year but I do know that if anyone needed to get out of Mullica for a few days it would have been that poor girl.
I can't believe the stress that she has been under and I'm surprised she's still able to function.
Without the support of our community,I don't believe she could have gone through this torture.
Congratulations to Kelly and shame on the BOE for allowing all this to evolve. You're all a disgrace and should do the right thing by resigning. Has any of you apologized to the teacher and community for all this?
Marro and Mazzoni need to go as well as the Board members who voted to pursue this. What good have these two done for our school and our community? Even the arbitrator finds fault with Mazzoni…
"Brent placed some of the blame on school district personnel who filed an incorrect police report, which stated the children were naked when found, and their failure to correct it later."
Hey Anonymous, Have you ever been to Disney? Disney trips must planned months in advance. Where did you get the idea that Kelly used the beef and beer money to go to Disney?? I wish some people would know facts before they just shoot off BS to stir up trouble. Are you the same one who kept saying we didn't know all the facts? Facts were out at arbitration.. He saw all the facts. So now what, you can't be happy for someone? Kelly gets her job back! That's wonderful news, why must you look for another reason to try and turn people against her?? Stuff that is not even valid or true. Is that why you are a coward and post anonymously?? If you believed in what you were saying, you'd sign your name. Sincerely ~Jaime Cirillo (Who has been to disney and had to put half down six months in advance and pay the rest weeks before the trip)
8:36 pm, I agree with you but this BOE gave Marro a new contract and Mazzoni a promotion as principal of the whole school as a reward for this mess. Maybe they should get rid of the lawyer who is advising them. There's an election in 4 months, I hope the whole town shows up for this one. Maybe we can get the school back on track with new people on the board who think "clearer".
So, Kelly gets a 10 day suspension for a lack of supervision spanning 5 minutes....what does Mazzoni get for filing a false police report? What does Marro get for disseminating parents personal information? What does Marro get for wasting ANOTHER 3200 bucks for the Experian contract? Who is paying for this? I know not Marro. That money is OUR tax dollars. And what becomes of Marro now that she has been proven to once again, show extremely poor judgement in even pursuing these tenure charges? How much taxpayer dollars will this woman be allowed to waste before the BOE does something. Oh wait, they did do something...the BOE gave her a 4 year contract. The problem here is there are way too many incompetent people to go around...unfortunately, they are all in positions of power. How sad for all of us.
Read the Report from the Arbitrator.. Mazzoni never called the police and filed that report, DR. BRENDA HARRING-MARRO did!~ Mazzoni was a tool. All fingers pointed to him, and he never defended himself and he never even notified the police, SHE DID!
Jaime
Jaime, you're right!
I didn't realize there were 27 pages in that determination. I stopped reading after the 2nd pg when I saw the arbitrator's signature.
Pg 14 - Superintendent called the MTPD and made an erroneous report.
How about pg.19 where the District (Marro,Mazzoni,Donio)initially articulated unsubstantiated speculation that the Respondent(Kelly) was distracted because she may have been using her cell phone or her computer other than to project the video.
Respondent(Kelly) provided her cell phone and social media records for the relevant time interval for inspection by the arbitrator. Nothing in these documents or elsewhere in the evidentiary records supports such a claim.
Another fabrication by the Administration brought to light.
Also, for your information- since you are completely confused - Kelly went to Florida in November during the school break, long before the beef and beer. Brenda has made it clear to teachers and students that vacations may not be taken during school time. However SHE HERSELF, BRENDA Has taken at least 2 maybe 3 Florida trips during our school year- this one alone. So again, not a good leader. Does not lead by example. You're all wrong. You just like to stir up trouble
Again
Sincerely,
Jaime Cirillo
Anonymous 12:54. For months we've seen Brenda huggers say, "we don't know all the facts the truth will come out". I've been told by a former friend on the boe that I didn't know all the facts. THEY DIDNT KNOW ALL THE FACTS. facts are out and Brenda should publicly apologize to Kelly. I wonder how the boe feels about her now?! They were lied to and misled. They all should apologize to kelly.
Jaime
Hey 12:54 am, did you see on pg 21 where the "District" tried to say there were other kids waiting in line for the bathroom and Mascio should have noticed?
Another proven lie!
Tell me how they can get away with all these lies and end up with promotions,new contracts and raises?
Who is the mysterious,secret mentor mentioned who Marro called for advise on this situation? She should put them on a "do not call" list
Is it possible that Marro told the school board that Mascio was talking on her phone & playing with the computer while the kids stood in line waiting for the bathroom while 2 naked kids were inside "having sex"?
That appears to be what she tried to tell the arbitrator and it was proven untrue by witnesses and records.
I'm really frightened by the mentality and ethics of the superintendent and principal and feel so bad for the staff who have to work under them.
Please BOE, spend the money and buy them out now. Give us back our school!
if my understanding of th case is correct, Ms Kelly was originally to be suspended for ten days but she and her union rejected the disciplinary action. This would be the same decision that the state arbiter came to. Why it escalated to her being fired is still unclear in the public record.
9:21 am
If your understanding is correct, it seems that there was a breach of confidentiality among the officials involved. That information,if true,was never released to the public.
5:48: After the real facts have finally come out, you have the nerve the continue to throw out lies. I feel really bad for you. You are a bitter person. Perhaps one of the disgraced BOE members?
Why does gadfly only publish some of the comments? Does the new Larry Angel have a union agenda?
5:58: The real facts have finally come out and you have the nerve to throw more lies out? I feel sorry for you. You sound like a bitter hateful person. Or are you of the disgraced BOE members?
Bahahahahaha!!!!!!
Oh but all of our email addresses were released by Brenda Marro herself when she sent every single parent and emergency contact a survey, and resent the same survey a second time- without all of our email addresses being hidden- and a third email exposing all of our email addresses yet again to recall her survey. 3 emails from Brenda with all our email addresses showing- not hidden. And the next day we got an apology with a lil note expressing how she hopes we will still take the survey.
9:23 pm
There could never be another Larry Angel.
Not all of the anonymous comments are published because of defamatory remarks and name calling by people on BOTH sides of this issue.
A valid opinion won't be posted if it includes these things unless you want to sign your name to it.
If an anonymous comment is received that the moderator knows for a fact is a lie, it will not be posted. Sometimes false information comes in but it seems to be debunked quickly by other readers.
6/26 To Readers
Comment 9:57pm is a response to to 2:38pm
Comments can not be edited and a paste from another comment is not recognized by the blogger system.
Since comments are being made on posts weeks and months old, it would be a good idea to add the date to your comments so people can respond to other posts without confusion.
Ex. RE: 2:38pm-6/23
I agree with ....
Are YOUR facts Straight?
Anonymous said...
What is going on in Mullica Township is a disgrace! A petition was given to the Board of Education( who by the way don't get paid for all this abuse) from several residents, many who thought they were signing a support for Kelly not a petition to get Brenda out. This petition does not speak for many who live here in Mullica but who are afraid to speak out due to repercussions . I am offended by this petition, and it doesn't speak for me. A vote of no confidence was also given .... I can tell you they said 93% voted no confidence, having worked there for many years I don't believe the vote was 93%. Many things are being said about the Superintendent that are simply untrue. If any of you have a question call Dr. Marro and she will answer you HONESTLY as long as she is able to ethically. For the Brenda haters...there is nothing she can do to make you people like her.
I can tell you that SHE is NOT the one on a witch hunt. I know Brenda Marro better than anyone and she is NOT the mean vindictive person she is being made out to be. She is speaking for those people who wish to remain anonymous. She PLAYS by the rules, and some may not like the rules. She is truly dedicated to the kids, residents, (many of which she has helped personally) and HER staff at Mullica Township School regardless of what is being said about her. How about we stop beating her up, stop keying her car and act like adults. Enough people have been hurt by all of this. The township is being divided, friendships ruined. I know that a lot of my friends are going to be angry, but so many have been hurt by all of this (BOE and their families, Kelly and her family, Brenda and her family, and especially the parents of those children) it's not ok to continually beat up on someone for doing their job! Oh and for the record, SHE did NOT privatize the cafeteria(the BA from previous Administration did), SHE did NOT get rid of the gifted and talented program. She did NOT call a parents boss. The test scores have not gone down since she was Superintendent they were down before her... She did not fire Mrs. Middleton, (budget reasons) would you rather we lost teachers? Where was the union and these people when an aide got fired years ago, when the librarian and a 7th grade teacher were let go under previous administrations? (Did they not know the right people?) There was an incident that someone was referring to regarding a 7th grade student being found near the pine cone zone, That 13 year old student was reported missing by his teacher in a matter of seconds. The hostile work environment is against Brenda as she is the one that has had a sign in her parking spot, her car keyed, and is constantly being slandered publicly. Nobody wins in this. The township and school will heal, but at how many peoples expense? We are suppose to show our children that it is not ok to bully or lie, but what are many of you doing??????? Just for record I don't want to see Kelly lose her job, nor do I want to see Brenda lose hers. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but get your facts straight before you comment!
Maryann Wyld
Retired Secretary to Dr. Brenda Harring-Marro
Resident for over 40
I'm sorry but Ms.Wyld was duped along with others. Ms.Marro does not play by rules. It was shown that fabricated verbal evidence was presented in this case plus false written reports. Are there no repercussions for her?
The BoE has an obligation to the children,teachers,and taxpayers of Mullica to keep a harmonious,healthy environment in the school. The environment is toxic and will remain so as long as Ms.Marro keeps her position.
Maryann: did you read the Arbitrators report? It clearly states a falsified police report was filed by your friend. You still want to talk facts? Resident for 42 years!
Maryann:
It was very nice for you to come on here and compose a letter to defend your old boss.. Will you NOW come on here again and write a letter to Kelly and apologize for you actions Or is this something that your boss taught you.
Resident for 45 years
I suspect that Ms. Wyld also loves watching Fox News while sipping on her Kool Aide. Besides the false police report, how about the lies about Kelly being on her phone? on her computer? Students milling around the bathroom? These were all lies purported by Marro to the Arbitrator. Maryann...please read the arbitrators report and get your head out of the sand. While you are at it, change the channel and stop watching Fox News.
Is the time that "retired" Ms. Wyld spends in the District office considered social visits or under the table paid time? Either way, it smells like another wrong doing by the superintendent. Or maybe she's the mystery mentor!
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