Plano school officials apparently want to avoid another chaotic meeting with parents yelling at them upset after the arrest of a second teacher accused of sexual misconduct with an elementary student.
Those parents concerned about incidents at Hunt Elementary School can sign up to attend one of six conference times for a second round of meetings to be held on Nov. 12. However, most will be during the school day with the earliest beginning at 7:15 a.m. and the last at 5 p.m.
School district spokeswoman Lesley Range-Stanton noted that while the meetings are during the day, some parents may have the day off because of the Veteran’s Day holiday. She said that families could contact Superintendent Richard Matkin to set up a meeting individually if desired.
“It’s a way for us to deliver information in a more intimate, one-on-one situation so we can talk and have a conversation,” Range-Stanton said.
Officials expect about 30 to 40 per conference group. This round of parent meetings is not open to the public or media.
Last month, a meeting to discuss issues at Hunt, which is located in Murphy, quickly deteriorated after parents became angry that there would be no two-way conversation with school officials to discuss concerns. Matkin abruptly stopped that meeting after parents repeatedly demanded that he tell them what the school district was doing to protect children.
That night parents were asked to write their questions on note cards, and Plano ISD officials later posted answers to those questions on the school’s web site after first vetting them through attorneys and police. Matkin later issued an apology to parents when he sent out information on what safety measures were being taken at the school.
Last month physical education teacher Todd Allen Reich was arrested at Hunt accused of touching a student on her breasts and making her touch his private areas over his pants. Last year, former kindergarten teacher Joseph Garbarini was found guilty of sexual misconduct for playing out sexual fantasies with two students that involved the girls and diapers.