Ex-teacher confronts Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board over ‘bullying'
NETHER PROVIDENCE — A teacher who resigned recently over the handling of an alleged bullying incident took her concerns to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board, but left without much apparent satisfaction.
Janelle Bonhomme, who was hired last August by the district on a temporary contract to teach fifth-grade students at the Swarthmore-Rutledge School, said stepping down from the position was a “last resort,” yet a move she believed she had to make.
“I was unable to support a school that supports bullying,” Bonhomme told the board on Jan. 27. She asserted that the school’s principal, Angela Tuck, failed to back a “full investigation” into the matter, without elaborating on details of what it entailed.
“My only alternative was to sadly and suddenly say goodbye,” she said.
When Bonhomme pressed the board on the situation, President Paul Schregel and Superintendent Richard Noonan said they could not comment on the issues in a public setting because they were personnel-related.
But Noonan did say that the district takes bullying issues “very seriously,” and that Bonhomme could continue to share any concerns with him and district Director of Human Resources Ferg Abbott.
As Bonhomme persisted with more questions, board member Vincent Marriott said, “This is not the forum to hash out the issues of any particular situation.”
Noonan said the district’s policy on bullying issues can be found on its web site, adding that it was updated last year. Bonhomme responded that the policy posted there was from 2009, but a check of the document clearly states it was revised in April 2013.
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