Superintendent Defends Principal's Handling Of Incidents At Condon School In South Boston
BOSTON (CBS) – Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius is defending a principal's handling of two disturbing incidents at a South Boston school last week.
On Friday, April 29, a bullet was found in the toilet of a boys' bathroom at the Condon K-8 School.
A day earlier, flyers "depicting a swastika and pictures of some current and past staff" were found in the school, according to Cassellius. In a message to families Sunday, she said the incidents were "unrelated."
On Saturday, city councilors Ed Flynn and Michael Flaherty released a joint statement, calling for an investigation of both incidents and how Principal Robby Chisholm handled them.
They said Chisholm did not request a "protective K9 sweep" of the entire building after the .45 caliber bullet was found by a student. According to the police report, officers were told it wasn't necessary to shut the school down for a sweep and there wasn't a fear of other potential bullets in the building.
"We want families, students and staff to know that Principal Chisholm immediately took every possible step to address each incident," Cassellius said in her message Sunday. "We are grateful Principal Chisholm took swift, decisive and thorough action in response to both incidents. We are taking every possible step to determine what occurred and to prevent any future such incidents."
"I think the principal should have done exactly what he did, alert the police, let them come in," Khristoph Samuel, the parent of fourth grader at the school, told reporters Monday. "It sounds crazy, but it's a little different here in the city. There's guns all around here, it's not like they found a bomb or something."
"We're working very closely to make sure we understand all the details of what has happened in this school," Mayor Michelle Wu said Monday.
"There is a protocol for how any incidents that are related to public safety are very quickly connected between our school leaders, our central office and public safety agencies. In this case, we're continuing to work with our school leadership and the district here and continuing to have conversations to make sure we know all the information."