SAUGUS — Numerous parents appeared before the School Committee on Thursday to express their dismay and outrage with how the district handled it. They responded to the arrest of a middle school science teacher last week, saying the school should have done more to prevent the incident and accusing officials of failing to address the incident adequately with students.
Members of the School Committee and Superintendent of Schools Michael Hashem spoke only vaguely about the arrest of 52-year-old Roxanne Plaskon, who was allegedly in possession of fentanyl on school grounds after Saugus police responded to calls for a suspicious substance in a faculty bathroom and later a classroom. But, Chair Vincent Serino and Vice Chair Tom Whittredge vowed to bring change to the district and said parents’ concerns would be handled with more gravity going forward.
Whittredge, who has two children in the district, was the most vocal member of the committee, saying he had been “disgusted” at times by the communication between school administrators and parents.
“I hate to say it, but I’m really kind of glad this happened because now it brings to the forefront what the real problems are, what we’ve all been talking about all this time,” he said.
Serino added, “We really need to look at what we’re doing and what we’re doing for the parents. Things like this shouldn’t happen, especially if they’re voicing their concerns.”
Hashem, for his part, emphasized the importance of the schools coming together as a community in the wake of the incident.
“We encourage everyone to reach out for support if they need it, whether that’s friends, family, community resources, or professional assistance,” he said. “As we move forward, let us remember the values of compassion, understanding, and solidarity to find our community.”
But, for parents, the words of school officials were not enough.
Marissa DeMonte, a parent of three children in the system, including two middle school students, one of whom was in Plaskon’s class, said one of her kids saw Plaskon being taken out of the school. DeMonte accused the district of brushing off complaints about Plaskon and the curriculum in her course and said it was her opinion that the administration had failed.
DeMonte said she began reaching out to administrators about the shortcomings of the education her daughter was receiving in Plaskon’s class in late September, saying she voiced concerns with “the lack of meaningful instruction and advancement in said class.” Her daughter grew anxious while in the class, and DeMonte said she grew resigned to the fact that her concerns were falling on dead ears.
“The administration has done a disservice to these children,” she said. “There were warning signs regarding the teacher during the first month of school. And it’s taken the events of last week for me and others to take it more seriously. It should not have come to this.”
Another parent, Wendi Magliozzi, said Plaskon’s arrest remains a sort of “elephant in the room” in the schools, as administrators have yet to directly address what happened with students.
Magliozzi said the arrest could have served as a teaching moment but instead has been swept under the rug.
“Everybody’s getting tired of waiting,” she said. “A bunch of parents pulled together to fight for new schools to go for this educational plan. And we’re still waiting.”
Another parent, Kerry Hogan, who has been a regular attendee of the School Committee meetings over the course of the past year, was the most forceful of those who spoke, saying she believed a number of failures took place in the run-up to the arrest.
Hogan said her rage began in earnest when the news broke that Plaskon was in possession of fentanyl, which she dubbed “the most potent, poisonous, and deadly drug currently known to man.”
Serino attempted to cut into Hogan’s remarks several times, saying, “It’s got to be correct” when Hogan began talking about fentanyl. He later seemed to indicate to audience members that the drug Plaskon was allegedly in possession of was not fentanyl — despite prosecutors saying it in court. She was found with six grams of the opioid.
Still, Hogan pressed on, calling for the district to implement mandatory drug screening for new hires and to make adding a school resource officer a top budget priority.
“Today, I stand here disappointed and furious,” she said. “This committee seems stuck on remaining reactive instead of proactive.”
“I truly believe that had an SRO been in the school, this teacher would have thought twice about bringing these drugs into the school,” Hogan added.
Frank Federico, a Town Meeting member, called for the committee to reconvene as soon as next week to present a draft action plan to the community for how the district will respond to similar events in the future.
While Serino said the committee was working on a number of different initiatives, members said they would not reconvene until Feb. 15.
In an interview following the meeting, Serino said the committee was specifically looking at the district’s pre-hiring and hiring processes and that the board largely agreed with the comments made by residents and parents.
“Things have to change,” he said.
Clarification: Due to incorrect information provided to a reporter, a story on page A1 Friday misstated details of the arrest of Saugus Middle School teacher Roxanne Plaskon. Plaskon was led out of the school and no police dog was present. The Item regrets the error.
