Friday, December 9, 2011

Does PPS discourage reporting of employee crimes to police?

From WPXI:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/29955212/detail.html

21 comments:

Questioner said...

So did Fazden do the right thing in a Penn State like situation but get criticized by the district for making the report?

Anonymous said...

Well, Fadzen is gone isn't he? That says it all.

Questioner said...

There is a time and a place for marketing and image management but don't let the tail wag the dog.

Anonymous said...

Some principals really care about employees rather than image still in these times. Some high schools have very organized plans for what to do IF... usually high schools. A major issue is in elementary-- no one wants to face mentally disturbed young students who will injure staff- hitting, biting, tripping, etc. Students under 10-- cant file charges must file against parents. Principals do not want this. These students suffer from PTSD-- think any child who has been abused in any way-- they do go back to some teacher's classroom. While some placement process may be happening, some disturbed child can be wrecking havoc in a school. I've seen principals try to drive people to hospital=sounds kind, or is it trying to control the ER spin. Our youngest students need serious mental health services.

Anonymous said...

Why is only one source reporting this?

Anonymous said...

not the only source today:

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_771381.html

Can anyone please explain any rational reason- beyond money-- that has the head of security reporting incidents to the CFO??
Does sound like sound BUSINESS practice-- and in light of PSU really SOUNDS shaky- especially now that this is finally out in the open. And no Dr. Lane- this is NOT a personnel matter-- chain of command IS public business.

Anonymous said...

I am just a parent, but if I had to guess about the reporting procedure, I would say that it was a matter of establishing "plausible deniability." I would expect the reporting of critical, sensitive, or criminal activity to be from the chief of security to the deputy superintendent or superintendent. Reporting to a layer below that level allows for plausible deniability for top management.

Anonymous said...

Chief to Berdnik to Spolar = cover-ups and PPS spins.

Why did WPXI and the Trib. Review only report this? They are "partners." The P-G and Chan. 2 are "partners," with obvious ties to PPS. We will never get investigative reporting from them. They only report PPS propaganda.

Spolar's letter to Fadzen should warrant an investigation (like Penn State). Possible criminal complaints by law must be made to the Pittsburgh Police NOT to the CFO and Jody Spolar! No wonder Berdnik got out when he did - and sued - and got paid. He knew too much about many things. They bought his silence. This is their MO - pay people to keep quiet.

Fadzen's open hearing should be interesting. I am sure he has been privy to some of the dirt swept under the rug.

Questioner said...

OK so Fadzen was instructed to report wrongdoing to Chris Berdnik rather than the police. The question is, did reportable incidents since that time make their way into police reports or not? And was a thorough investigation done into the matter of the Carrick teacher?

Anonymous said...

This story looked like it got zero coverage and was swept under the rug.

The "story" refers to a previous (unrelated) sexual misconduct a year earler by a male teacher. The 2009 accusations are toward a female teacher.. Does anyone know if she is still employed, who she is or what happened?

http://www.wpxi.com/news/19506089/detail.html

Questioner said...

Yes we do know the name and details but because there were apparently no official charges or reports released it is not possible to include the name here. The teacher reportedly is still teaching.

Anonymous said...

Just this quote from the reportis frightening.

"The female teacher isn't being identified while the investigation is ongoing. Police said they don't believe the incident is criminal, since the boy was old enough to consent to sex in Pennsylvania, where that threshold is 16 years old."

Not criminal?

Anonymous said...

Try Chris Potter at City Paper. There must be investigative reporters somewhere? Didn't Andy Sheehan used to do this? What about Marty Griffin?

Investigative reporting and real journalism is a wide open opportunity for someone in this city!

PPS alone would be a full-time JOB!

Really said...

Marty Griffin is just a mouthpiece for the board. Here's a guy who takes off on teachers any way he can.
Sheehan apparently has gotten tired of the investigative angle. You'd think he'd want to investigate, what with a kid in the system.
Media in this town is content to just read the press release for "news."

Anonymous said...

Not defending reporters- but Marty made a statement on his radio show that he has family wanting to be investigative reporters and he warned them, " be sure your bosses want this investigated and the story told so they will back you"-- it was a light-bulb moment for me. Obviously the 4th estate is taking the video of the union/board in bed together.

Questioner said...

That is very true. Most of the reporters covering PPS over the past 6 years have referred to what their bosses would or wouldn't let them cover. And it is clear that they have had to be very careful about what they did say. One reporter seems to have internalized the standards so completely as to have no interest in covering what the boss wouldn't approve. The Courier may be an exception.

Questioner said...

Still, Pittsburgh citizens have some responsibility for the state of reporting. If we expect to read the paper online for free and replace classified ads with free online services, who exactly will pay for investigation and reporting? If only a few are paying they will have a disproportionate influence. Would we be willing to pay for true investigative news reporting?

Anonymous said...

You should be ashamed of your speculations! And that's just what they are. The matter was thoroughly investigated. Yes, the teacher is still there because after a year of investigation beyond the end of the school year, it finally came out that the student lied.

The who thing with Fadzen isn't that he wasn't supposed to report this incident. Fadzen often reported false incidents to the news.

How dare people drag someone's name through the mud after they were vindicated! For once, someone's life and career wasn't ruined by the growing percentage of students who lie about things such as this just to get at a teacher they don't like (or like too much).

And no, I am NOT saying that all students who accused teachers of inappropriate actions are liars, so don't even put me in that category. EVERY accusation should be investigated. But don't be so naive to think that there are those out there who lie about things like this.

The real shame is that some day, because of the growing number of false reports, it'll be like the boy who cried wolf when something awful and despicable really does happen.

Questioner said...

How do we know the matter was thoroughly investigated? We could just trust that PPS does the right thing, but it is more difficult to have that trust if PPS employees are being told to report this type of allegation to the CFO or HR rather than to authorities in the best position to investigate.

Questioner said...

To the extent we in the US have real investigative freedom of the press we are probably more the exception than the rule- here's a recent example from Russia:

Moscow editor fired over coverage of Putin http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203518404577096083626131686.html

"The incident highlights the narrow guardrails on political speech in Russia, whose most powerful media outlets are controlled by the state or owned by Kremlin-friendly tycoons."

Anonymous said...

Even if something major happens we are instructed to call the office not the Police said our Principal