Board of Ed Veep Objects to District’s Handling of Schraufnagel Fallout
Chappaqua Board of Education’s vice president last week harshly criticized the school district for placing responsibility on the students who were sexually abused by former Horace Greeley High School drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel.
In a prepared statement read shortly after the start of the board’s Sept. 1 meeting, Victoria Tipp said she had been unaware of the district’s controversial defense claim of contributory negligence on the part of the four high school students whose families filed a civil suit against the district. The district’s claim appeared in a court filing on behalf in response to the students’ allegations.
“I do not be believe children should ever be held responsible in cases of criminal sexual abuse,” said Tipp, who stated that she learned of the defense through media reports. “When a child is subject to any kind of abuse, that child cannot be blamed. In addition, their privacy must be respected.”
Schraufnagel pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to three charges of endangering the welfare of a child in New Castle Justice Court. The one felony count of third-degree criminal sex act was dropped through the plea deal. The original seven charges from the district attorney’s office stemmed from incidents in 2011 and the 2014-15 school year.
A portion of the district’s July response included a paragraph that placed at least some culpability on the part of the plaintiffs. The suit, filed in May, described how students were subjected to sexual, verbal and physical abuse and harassment by Schraufnagel on school grounds and that he provided illegal drugs and alcohol.
“That if the plaintiffs were caused to sustain injuries and damages at the times and places and in the manner alleged in the complaint, said injuries or damages were caused or contributed to by reason of the carelessness, recklessness, negligence and/or assumption of the risk, both implied and expressed, of the plaintiffs,” the district’s response stated in part.
Tipp, who stressed she was speaking on her own behalf, also said she strongly objected to the district’s hiring of a public relations firm without the knowledge of trustees. Although she recognized that retaining the firm was part of the district’s legal retainer, it sends the wrong message to the community.
“The recent reports do not represent who we are and do not reflect the values of our school district,” said Tipp, followed by loud applause from the public. “I will use my position on the board, as a board member, to seek a better way or I will find another way to serve my community.”
The only response from the remainder of the board, which consisted of President Alyson Gardner and Trustee Warren Messner, was from Gardner. She said that she appreciated Tipp’s comments but “I want to be clear that no one is saying that when a child is the victim of adult sexual abuse, the child is to blame. Nowhere has that been said.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lyn McKay said school officials “absolutely hear and understand the profound effect” the Schraufnagel incident has had on the community. In response, the district has undertaken rigorous review of its policies and protocols regarding supervision in buildings and monitoring of students and adults.
The district has also been using the services of experts in the area of sexual abuse of students and it will continue to schedule small group meetings to discuss issues that arise from the incident.
“We’re on a very difficult journey,” McKay said. “I have great confidence in this district and the people and the students and all of us moving forward. We welcome anyone from the community who wants to give input to this.”
A couple of community members spoke during public comments. District resident and parent Barbara Buxbaum urged school officials to confront the shortcomings in policies and procedures to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
“The pain is passed on to family members, community and down to future generations,” Buxbaum said. “Let’s be the example. Fix this now. We could be heroes.”
During her remarks, Tipp said there has been pressure to remain silent, but she was too committed to the community to not address the public.
“There is no community in this world that is immune to adversity, no matter how strong and well-prepared,” Tipp said. “The strength of a community is not measured by the absence of hardship. It’s measured by its response to challenges.”
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