Milton names interim school chief

MILTON The Milton School Board has voted to appoint a retired veteran school administrator from Massachusetts to serve as a temporary interim superintendent.

Negotiations are underway with Ann Bradshaw of East Falmouth, Massachusetts, to fill the spot while School Superintendent John Barone remains on paid administrative leave in the wake of a high school football hazing scandal.

“After careful review, the Board was ultimately convinced that Ms. Bradshaw’s extensive public school administrative experience ... made her the best choice at this time for the leadership of the students, administrators, teachers, staff and volunteers of the District, parents, and taxpayers,” the board said in a news release.

Bradshaw said she is excited about the possibilities in Milton.

“It looks like the people are dedicated to children,” Bradshaw told the Burlington Free Press in a phone interview.

“I am going to be very exited to come. I can’t wait to get there. I hope to visit very soon.”

She said she hoped that negotiations, which will include salary, length of contract, reporting date and other issues can be wrapped up within a week or two.

The board received 13 applications and whittled the list to six finalists, who met for interviews in recent weeks.

Bradshaw served as an assistant superintendent for the Falmouth Public Schools from 2000 to 2005 and was superintendent for Mashpee Public Schools from 2005 to 2013.

She was the assistant superintendent for human resources for the New Bedford Public Schools in 2013-14.

Bradshaw, a former teacher in Falmouth, also worked as director of curriculum and instruction for Falmouth from 1996 to 200.

Bradshaw told the Free Press she has read newspapers accounts of the recent school issues, including issues involving Barone and High School Principal Anne Blake.

She also has read the independent investigation by retired State Police Capt. Dan Troidl into whether school officials had followed their own policies and procedures.

Troidl’s report in August noted five Milton School District employees — including Barone and Anne Blake — failed to follow school policies in the wake of hazing rituals for the varsity football team.

An earlier criminal investigation revealed five Milton football players held initiations that included sexually hazing younger players with broom sticks or pool cues.

The hazing case spread over several years and eventually lead to criminal convictions for the five former players. One hazing victim died by suicide a year after he was assaulted, and the Vermont Legislature adopted a new law this year designed to provide greater protection for children, including for hazing.

The legislation was passed in part due to the 2012 suicide of Jordan Preavy one year after football teammates assaulted him in a hazing ritual.

Troidl wrote in his 100-page plus report:

• Barone, the superintendent, denied any knowledge of the Preavy incident, “yet there is significant evidence to the contrary.” Troidl said there is evidence the superintendent spoke by speaker phone in May 2013 to Principal Blake and then-Athletic Director Joe Solomon about the Preavy hazing case. A decision was made not to report the incident to the Department for Children and Families — one of two primary cases Troidl focused on.

•Anne Blake, the lead principal, failed to make a written report after learning about the Preavy suicide and noted the “perpetrator” was no longer a student as required under the hazing policy.

Blake said she became aware of a second unrelated incident when another student, who also played on the football team, told two teachers he was considering killing himself because of bullying. He subsequently brought a gun to school Nov. 6, 2012.

Troidl noted two other employees — Joe Solomon, the now-retired athletic director, and Jim O’Grady, a teacher/coach — did make efforts to follow the hazing policy but “failed to fully comply” by not reporting to the Department for Children and Families on their own.

O’Grady was given credit for being the first staff member known to come forward about the hazing case with Preavy. O’Grady reported the hazing allegation to Solomon and Blake and believed the school district would follow through to make a report to DCF. Troidl stated in his investigation O’Grady should have filed his own report with DCF.

Solomon was the second staff member to learn about the Preavy hazing case. Solomon took part in the conference call with Blake and Barone. Because none of the students involved were current students, a decision was made to never file a report. Troidl stated Solomon still was mandated to file a report with DCF.

Troidl, a 27-year state police employee, noted bumping child abuse reports up the chain of command is insufficient. School employees need to report those issues to the state directly.

Contact Mike Donoghue at 660-1845 or mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.