Concord High School principal Tom Sica will be on paid administrative leave while the school district investigates how reports of inappropriate behavior from a now-arrested teacher were handled.
Superintendent Terri Forsten said in a statement released late Friday afternoon that Sica voluntarily chose to go on leave effective Monday. She said the independent investigation will take about a month.
“The district agrees with and is in support of Mr. Sica’s decision,” she wrote.
The announcement came two days after the school board met with legal counsel and a week after the Monitor first reported on the 2014 suspension of student Ana Goble.
Goble was suspended in 2014 when she was a student at Rundlett Middle School after noticing teacher Howie Leung holding special lunches and field trips with a select group of girls. Sica, then the principal at RMS, suspended her for spreading “malicious and slanderous gossip.”
In April, Leung was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a Rundlett student starting in the 2014-15 school year, around the same time Goble spoke up.
Goble’s family demanded an apology from the district and that her suspension be removed from her student record.
Sica was not present at Concord High’s graduation Saturday, as the ceremony was emceed by CHS assistant principal Steve Rothenberg.
Forsten said it was Sica’s decision to not attend graduation.
The district’s investigation will also look at how the school district handled reports made this past December that led to Leung’s arrest. A group of students reported that Leung had “engaged in inappropriate contact” with an 18-year-old, who is a different student than the victim he is accused of sexually assaulting years ago.
Forsten said the school district has not contracted with an investigator yet.
Court documents say “Leung had been observed engaging in inappropriate behavior with a high school senior.”
Concord school officials forwarded their investigation to the state’s Department of Education in February, despite objections from union officials who said the investigation into Leung was overly negative. State education officials notified Concord police, who launched a criminal investigation that led to accusations of sexual assault against Leung from at least one former Concord student.
The alleged victim, now 17, told police she was inappropriately touched by Leung on several occasions at Rundlett – both on school property and in his vehicle when he gave her rides home, according to court documents. She also said he assaulted her multiple times at the Fessenden School in Massachusetts.
Leung remained at Concord High for three and a half months, first while the school investigated and then city police. He was ultimately placed on paid administrative leave March 27 and arrested April 3.
Sica has been the principal of CHS since 2016. Prior to that, he was the Rundlett principal. Both Sica and Leung moved to the high school at the same time.
In addition to hiring an independent investigator to look into the two student complaints against Leung, the district is reviewing its policies and procedures related to student safety, creating professional training for staff, and developing learning opportunities for students to feel empowered and understand reporting procedures, Forsten said.
Dear Members of the Concord School Community,
I am writing to you with an update to the June 12 letter from the Concord School Board.
As indicated in that letter, the Board will be engaging the services of an independent, outside investigator to examine two separate and distinct incidents: First, what was reported at Rundlett Middle School in December of 2014 and what actions were taken. Second, what was reported at Concord High School in December 2018 and what processes were followed after allegations of inappropriate teacher-student conduct were brought to the attention of the administration. We anticipate the investigation will be complete sometime this summer, at which time further steps will be reviewed and decided upon by the Board.
In light of the Board’s actions, Concord High School Principal Tom Sica has decided to take a voluntary leave of absence, effective June 24. The District agrees with and is supportive of Mr. Sica’s decision.
Throughout the summer months, we will be:
• Reviewing district policies and procedures surrounding sexual harassment, bullying, abuse and community safety
• Creating professional training for staff and learning opportunities for students
• Working with local experts to support our development and planning
It is our intent to improve the culture and climate in our schools around safety for every member of our school community. We understand our responsibility for the safety, security, and well-being of our students, and look forward to the active engagement of our community as we move forward together.