McKeesport superintendent resigns after alleged failure to report child sexual abuse allegations
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — As its school year starts, the McKeesport Area School District is in disarray and embroiled in scandal.
KDKA Investigates has learned an alleged failure to report allegations of child sexual abuse led to the resignation last week of Superintendent Tia Wanzo, and that several other employees may lose their jobs. It all stems from a failure to act after the district learned a security guard had a sexual relationship with an underage student.
Questions arise after superintendent resigns
In the wake of her resignation, questions have arisen about why Wanzo and the district parted ways.
KDKA Investigates has obtained a copy of an internal investigation accusing Wanzo, the principal of the senior high school and a teacher of "a frightening failure," saying they delayed calling ChildLine about an alleged sexual relationship between a security guard and an underage student.
KDKA-TV has learned the principal and the teacher appeared before termination hearings last week and two others in the district may follow.
Special report says Wanzo and others failed to act
A special council report says Wanzo and two others failed to call ChildLine when they learned of allegations security guard Alexis Brown had a sexual relationship with a then-16-year-old student, and that Wanzo did not move to remove Brown until months later.
Police arrested Brown in January on charges of corrupting a minor. A criminal complaint says she had sex with the student 10 times beginning in May of last year and became pregnant.
The report says another student reported this to a teacher on Oct. 27, 2023. The teacher, in turn, reported it to Dale McCall, the high school principal, who in turn called Wanzo, who was in California at the time.
As educators, all three are mandatory reporters of child abuse, but the report says Wanzo assigned reporting duties to the teacher, who did not report the allegations until five days later. The report says all three are equally responsible for the delay in reporting.
Then, the report says Wanzo did not contact the private security company about removing Brown until December 2023, but by then Brown had already left the district on maternity leave. The report also says Wanzo never alerted the board, the solicitor or the district insurance carrier about the allegations.
"I can't confirm or deny any reasons for her resignation. I don't give opinions or comment on personnel matters," district solicitor Gary Matta told KDKA-TV last week.
The district won't comment on any of this. However, under a separation agreement, Wanzo voluntarily resigned last week and will receive a one-year salary of $173,250.
Sources told KDKA-TV that McCall and the teacher have been suspended with pay and appeared before termination hearings last week, but the investigation is going even deeper. KDKA-TV is told that in those hearings, two other employees have been implicated and they have also been suspended with pay.
Attorney Tom King, who the board retained to conduct the investigation, also declined comment but writes in the report the record reveals a "frightening failure" of the professional employees to follow the law, saying:
"These failures are extremely serious and exposed not only the employees in question to liability but also exposed the district to liability and endangered the children of the district."
KDKA-TV reached out to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office but did not hear back on Monday.
