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“(There) seems to have been a need to circle the wagons,” Cohen said Wednesday about the Stamford Public School District’s approach to issues involving alleged child abuse.
He spoke at the court appearance of Stamford High School Principal Donna Valentine and vice principal Roth Nordin, where they were granted accelerated rehabilitation by Superior Court Judge Richard Comerford. It will allow them to have no criminal record if they have no further legal problems in the next two years. They had been arrested in October and charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to report an allegation.
Both women in brief comments to the court said they had learned a lesson and apologized for their lack of action in notifying the state Department of Children and Family immediately once they had learned a teacher, Danielle Watkins, was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student. Watkins also allegedly gave him and another male student marijuana. Watkins was arrested in July, and her case is still before the court.
At one moment when Comerford was speaking in court Wednesday, Valentine’s lawyer Mark Sherman put his left hand on her left shoulder to comfort her as she teared up.
Cohen was contemptuous of the school district’s commitment to learning about mandatory reporting as he noted that only three staff members had taken DCF’s training to learn about mandatory reporting – “four if you count the person who took it twice,” he added sarcastically.
He was caustic with the district’s decision to turn to its lawyers first instead of DCF.
“Their first reaction is not to call DCF but to enlist legal advice,” Cohen said.
He also took a swing at district’s legal representatives, stating they had misinterpreted the law on mandatory reporting, noting that it's the city’s taxpayers who ultimately are paying for that advice.
He also said he had not received one phone call from any city leaders about the case -- not school board members, municipal leaders, or state representatives and senators.
But Cohen agreed with granting accelerated rehabilitation to the two women, as did Comerford.
Comerford shared Cohen’s sentiments about the school district’s actions. He warned the district and its leadership that if it doesn’t mend its ways, “we will do something about it.”
Accelerated rehabilitation erases charges from a defendant's record after the completion of a probationary period of up to two years. It is available to some first-time offenders charged with lesser crimes.
Valentine and Nordin have been on paid leave since their arrests.
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