HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — 28/22 News has an update to a strange incident at a Monroe County school earlier this month, in which a Stroudsburg area staff member was suspended for taping the mouths of children.
Officials and parents were hoping to get a clearer picture of what happened in a private meeting on Tuesday, but according to one parent, it only made the situation more confusing.
Reporters were not allowed inside the meeting inside the Hamilton Elementary School, but 28/22 News did speak to a parent who was there.
28/22 News also now knows that the school's superintendent says the staff member in question was moved from "paid" to "unpaid" suspension.
According to officials at Hamilton Elementary School near Stroudsburg, a staff member's actions toward students remains under investigation.
The school held a private meeting tuesday night that parent Darren Frable attended.
"I feel like I know less now after that meeting than I did walking into it," Stroudburg resident Darren Frable said.
Frable has nine children enrolled in the Stroudsburg Area School District.
Pittston fights the blight of problem propertiesTwo of his kids attend Hamilton Elementary.
28/22 News first spoke with Frable in early April when the school released this statement to first-grade parents, initially addressing the incident.
From the school's principal, Mark Getz, it stated "a staff member put blue painter's tape on students' mouths during the first grade lunch period on Wednesday, as in April 19."
"From what I heard from other parents that this did not start out as an okay thing and then turned into a haha funny maybe okay thing," Frable added.
On Tuesday, Stroudsburg Area Superintendent Cosmas Curry provided me with this update that reads in part:
The matter has been reported to the proper authorities. As a district, we will be following the due process rights and procedure an individual has prior to any disposition.
Stroudsburg Area Superintendent Doctor Cosmas Curry
Frable says a little more than a handful of people attended the meeting.
What led to the taping is unclear, but Frable is encouraging anyone involved to step up and speak out about what happened.
"This is one of those things, if you are a parent that was involved in this or your kid was involved in this jokingly or not, I would hope that you would say something," Frable continued.
Frable is glad to hear the school is actively investigating the situation, but feels concerned about what may ultimately be decided.