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Plano ISD apologizes for town hall meeting, announces changes at Hunt Elementary
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com, @Bill_PlanoStar on Twitter
Three days after holding a town hall meeting at Hunt Elementary, Plano ISD Superintendent Richard Matkin apologized to parents who felt their concerns were not addressed.
In a letter dated Oct. 26, Matkin shared changes that will implemented at Hunt after the arrest of physical education teacher Todd Reich on charges of indecency with a child.
Reich is the second Hunt teacher to be arrested on similar charges in the last three years. In August 2011, former kindergarten teacher Joseph Garbarini was sentenced to 62 years in prison for similar charges.
Among the changes announced by Matkin will be the installation of 48 new surveillance cameras, giving the school a total of 88. All solid doors will have windows installed, and all door and window coverings will be removed from interior doors.
Changes will also be made to school's staff. A full-time assistant principal will be assigned to campus, the letter read. Additional counselors will also be stationed on campus and staff members will undergo additional training.
The final piece to the puzzle will be a third-party review of the district's human resources department to evaluate its current practices.
After Tuesday's meeting, which ended early after frustrated parents began shouting questions, Matkin said another meeting will be held in the future. That meeting has not yet been scheduled.
The district has also announced that an additional Q&A will be posted on the school's website, containing answers to questions submitted at Tuesday's meeting.
The Hunt Elementary website contains additional information on the district's response to the Reich arrest and can be found at k12.pisd.edu/hunt-elementary-school.
In a letter dated Oct. 26, Matkin shared changes that will implemented at Hunt after the arrest of physical education teacher Todd Reich on charges of indecency with a child.
Reich is the second Hunt teacher to be arrested on similar charges in the last three years. In August 2011, former kindergarten teacher Joseph Garbarini was sentenced to 62 years in prison for similar charges.
Among the changes announced by Matkin will be the installation of 48 new surveillance cameras, giving the school a total of 88. All solid doors will have windows installed, and all door and window coverings will be removed from interior doors.
Changes will also be made to school's staff. A full-time assistant principal will be assigned to campus, the letter read. Additional counselors will also be stationed on campus and staff members will undergo additional training.
The final piece to the puzzle will be a third-party review of the district's human resources department to evaluate its current practices.
After Tuesday's meeting, which ended early after frustrated parents began shouting questions, Matkin said another meeting will be held in the future. That meeting has not yet been scheduled.
The district has also announced that an additional Q&A will be posted on the school's website, containing answers to questions submitted at Tuesday's meeting.
The Hunt Elementary website contains additional information on the district's response to the Reich arrest and can be found at k12.pisd.edu/hunt-elementary-school.
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