Central Bucks School District. Photo by James Short.
Centrals Bucks School Board’s meeting became heated Thursday night when the board was asked to approve a list of leaves of absence for district staff. Among the requests were two special education staff members at Jamison Elementary School, where abuse allegations against staff had recently emerged.
The staff were suspected of mistreating nonverbal autistic children, sparking outrage in the community as the staff members had not been fired, but were instead being given paid leave. This prompted several concerned residents and taxpayers to question the district's handling of the situation.
Watch the school board session here.
The abuse allegations had first been made public in January when members of the public, including school board member Jim Pepper, revealed details to the board. One of the major allegations was that a nonverbal child at Jamison, identified as Pepper’s son, was physically mistreated by staff, including being pushed, grabbed, and forced to walk on hot surfaces as punishment.
The child’s access to water was restricted, and they were subjected to prolonged periods without clothing. The accusations also involved improper restraints on multiple children in the special education classroom.
Initially, the district downplayed the allegations, calling them “instructional concerns” and blaming a personality conflict between staff members. However, after a Pennsylvania Department of Education investigation, it was revealed that physical restraints had been used without proper reporting.
While no charges have been filed against staff members, further investigations into the treatment of children at Jamison are still ongoing.
On Thursday, an agenda item came up for a vote for a list of leave requests that included two staff members from Jamison. The names of the teachers were not publicly disclosed by the district.
Several board members had reservations about approving the leave for the Jamison staff, fearing it might be seen as condoning the alleged abuse, with a few requesting the names be voted on separately.
However, district officials said that some leaves of absence, particularly those under the Family and Medical Leave Act, are legally required and cannot be denied. The board ultimately passed the leave requests for all district employees, including the two from Jamison, by a vote of 7-2.
“I would have some reservations about approving some of these leaves of absences,” said board President Susan Gibson, “but I would not want to put the board or myself in a position where we are violating in any way FMLA or collective bargaining agreements.”
Dissenting votes were from Pepper and Dana Foley.
During a public comment period, one speaker raised concerns about the appropriateness of granting paid leave to individuals potentially involved in mistreating children, especially in light of the ongoing investigations.
JoAnna Holton, a parent of a student at Jamison, spoke out about her son’s treatment in the special education class.
“The report documents that my son, along with another classmate, was restrained anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, sometimes multiple times a day,” she said. “My son matters. He deserves to go to school and be safe. He deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. He deserves a learning environment that is supportive of his needs and an education that's appropriate for him.”
