PITTSBURGH — A suburban Pittsburgh principal has been placed on paid administrative leave as district officials plan to investigate how he handled reports of inappropriate sexual relationships between teachers and students.
District officials say Plum High School principal Ryan Kociela was placed on leave Saturday following
“You absolutely need to clean house. Even though they weren't criminally charged, you cannot deny the fact that are in this report," said former Plum Borough school member, Joe Tommarello.
Kociela's attorney, Steve Townsend, had no comment.
Two male teachers have been sentenced to prison for sexual relationships with female students.
A former substitute math teacher and baseball coach awaits a trial on student-sex charges.
A suspended teacher is also charged with intimidating one of the accusers by pointing her out in class. They've denied any wrongdoing.
"It's disgusting that these people knew. The superintendent, the principal, the resource officer, so many people knew and nothing was done," said Tommarello, who testified before the grand jury that he spoke to Superintendent Tim Glasspool about rumors involving one of the teachers.
Officials say the board will investigate all employees in
The Plum Borough School District Board of Directors issued a statement following the release regarding Kociela and pending investigation:
"As School Directors of the Plum Borough School District, we are disgusted by the conduct disclosed in the grand jury report. We are thankful for the time and effort of the grand jury. Their investigation focused on violations of the criminal code, without recommending any additional indictments. We must now focus on the violation of school code and state regulations governing school districts. We will work diligently to follow the due process of law, in order to conduct an investigation of all relevant personnel."
"The Principal at Plum High School, Ryan Kociela, has been placed on paid administrative leave, as required by the school code, pending a further investigation. Mr. Kociela was so notified Saturday, May 21. The school board, on Tuesday, May 24, 2016 will look to hire outside, independent counsel to perform a full investigation. This investigation will include, but not be limited to, all current and former employees named in the report."
"The Pennsylvania Public School Code and state education regulations differ-from Pennsylvania Criminal Code, but are equally, if not more important to the protection of our children. The School Code also has differing steps of due process. For the school community's understanding, a due process checklist appears on the District's web page. Our investigation and actions will abide by this process in seeking accountability for our community"
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