Faced with a scandal at Miramonte Elementary School, Schools Superintendent John Deasy fired all the staff--including the custodians. All of them, he says, are somehow implicated in the nasty sex games that one teacher has been charged with.
Deasy maintains that the school's entire staff was participating in a "culture of silence" because they did not report that a teacher was feeding his students cookies laced with his own semen. However, it's more than likely that staff at the lowest positions--like janitors and secretaries--had no idea what was going on in that classroom. Fellow teachers, who are much more likely to have covered up the crime, have been allowed to resume their posts.
Tell Deasy that he is punishing the wrong people. Staff who have very little connection to the classroom--except for cleaning it in the early evening--are hardly responsible for the crimes teachers commit in the broad light of day. Tell him to rehire Miramonte Elementary School's staff.
We the undersigned agree there is no excuse for the abusive games that one Miramonte Elementary School teacher is accused of playing with his students. However, the janitors and other auxiliary staff are not to blame and should not be targeted.
You have charged that everyone at the school is guilty of participating in a culture of silence. At the same time, you have allowed the school's teachers to return to their classrooms. The teachers are much more likely to have known of their fellow teacher's crimes than are the janitors and secretaries.
Please reconsider your action in firing people whose only known fault is that they worked in the same building as a child abuser
