Since news broke that Pittsfield High School dean of students Lavante Wiggins and an associate had been arrested and charged with high volume cocaine trafficking in federal court last week, two more employees of the school have been placed on leave due to pending investigations.
Wiggins’ arrest led to an explosion of allegations of employee misconduct in the Pittsfield Public Schools.
The other staffers are now under the scrutiny of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
The school committee called for an investigation into the situation after emotional community testimony at its last meeting of the year Wednesday. That call will now be echoed by the city council at a special meeting Monday.
“This entire community has a shared trauma unfolding right now," Ward 7 City Councilor Rhonda Serre. "The allegations are never anything that we would imagine could happen in our schools, and hopefully they're not, but a solid investigation needs to take place, and we need to keep our heads and make sure that our focus remains on the health and wellbeing of the students, because at the end of the day, that's all that matters.”
She submitted a handwritten petition for Monday’s meeting that joins the school committee in requesting a transparent investigation into the district.
“It's just essentially standing up, the city council standing up and saying, school committee, we get it, we're with you, we agree with you, we want an investigation too, this is one city, this is one Pittsfield, as the mayor says," Serre told WAMC. "We are all going to go through this together and make sure that we find a solution on how to prevent this from happening again, or even if it happened. I mean, I'm not even going to say something definitely happened. We don't even know that yet, but we do have to go through this as a whole community and make sure that our children are safe.”
The councilor says the move is an effort to balance dismay in the Pittsfield community with due diligence and a fair process of determining responsibility.
“I think their concerns, their anger, their outrage, it's all very valid," she said. "I mean, as a parent of children who went through our public school system, I too would absolutely be outraged at the accusations that are coming forward, but the first step in figuring out how to move forward is to determine exactly who we need to be pointing our fingers at, and I'd hate for the hysteria of social media to drag in innocent people who are guilty by association. I just want everybody to take calmer heads, take a breath, and just let the authorities vet this thing through thoroughly.”
Serre acknowledged the symbolic nature of the council’s efforts.
“According to the Charter, the city council has no formal role," she said. "This is entirely up to the school administration, and to a certain degree, the school committee, but the city council plays no formal role in this process whatsoever. I felt this meeting needed to be called because people need to be heard right now, and they need a voice, and the city council is elected to represent them.”
Alongside Serre, the petition is signed on behalf of councilors Kathy Amuso, Brittany Noto, Alisa Costa, and Dina Lampiasi- All five women who sit on the 11-member body. Again, Serre.
“As women, this issue rings a lot differently for most women than it does for men," Serre told WAMC. "And I'm sad to say that's the way the world or our society has unfolded, unfortunately. But as the female leaders, elected leaders in this city, we wanted to stand up and say, you know what, we are standing with everybody going through this, we want the victims to be heard, we want to make sure that all the voices have a chance to be heard and acted upon, and we want to make sure that transparency is clear from the entire city. Now, we know that the mayor has already voiced that he will make this a transparent situation, and we understand that, and we respect that, and we don't by any means question his intent on that, but we want it on the record that this is important enough for us to step outside of our actual authority, quote, unquote, and deal more with the reality of community instead of the reality of bylaws.”
Mayor Peter Marchetti voiced his concern at the school committee meeting Wednesday.
“I've had concerns about the hiring process," he said then. "So, I think our recommendations and where we're going is a step in the right direction. I pledge that we will hold everyone accountable along the way, when we get a fair investigation back from DCF and the FBI.”
In a written statement, Ward 6’s Dina Lampiasi told WAMC said that the crisis in the schools was too serious for the council to remain silent on:
“It is essential for Pittsfield’s leaders to stand united in rooting out misconduct within our schools and addressing the systemic failures that may have allowed such behavior to occur or persist. This is about protecting our children and fulfilling a responsibility to support residents while safeguarding the well-being and integrity of our entire community.”
The Pittsfield City Council’s special meeting that will include opportunity for public comment is set for 6pm Monday at city hall.
