1. Public officials have “backed away” from charges. As I understand it, no one of these officials backed away from proceeding on serious charges except for non-substantive technical reasons — one official recused himself after long delay because he was connected with one of the parties, another official didn't bring action because he was given the case too long after the event. The first official, if my information is correct, seriously considered filing charges of battery.
It is still a substantive question whether a felony was committed.

2. Consenting adults. This is a fiction that makes people feel better about what happened — a pox on everyone involved, they were all responsible, no need to use our brains. But consent cannot be given when one is not conscious, and at this point, some people made of another's body a place of public art work. The content of that “art” matters. They didn't say “gotcha” or “you were drunk and passed out.” They drew obscene figures and wrote obscene words on another person's body. That person when awakened became greatly scared. Refusal to address this is indeed “deflection.” Such images are evidence and need to be “read.” This is not “embellishment.” The victim was really victimized.

The victim has also not claimed to be Mother Teresa and has owned up fully to her own role. But, and this is conveniently omitted from your post, Hasletite, she has also alleged that she was slipped a drug. And a friend of hers repeated the claim at the school board meeting. Again, the story of what happened is more complex than that consenting adults collectively did something stupid but benign.

3. Duda acted as legal guardian of the Haslett School District's legal interests:
Perhaps, but the jury is still out on this. To me, it appears he was advised to, or he decided to, think about the range of appropriate response narrowly. Perhaps he thought he was dealing with the personnel issues that flow from this by easing the way out of the district for one of the parties involved. That initiative didn't work. At no point does it appear that he or others, say the HS principal involved, seriously considered whether such behavior raised serious questions about the fitness of the other parties to continue coaching, advising, and so forth.

4. I am impressed with all the pleas that these are basically good people, good teachers, long contributors, and I do not discount the sincerity of those who provide these pleas. But I am also impressed (depressed?) by all the additional statements that there's an old boys network involved here, friends dealing with friends, rather than professionals dealing with other professionals, professionally.
Fine with preserving careers and vocations, not my intention to go any other direction, but the school and the district have just not found a way to deal with this effectively, constructively, forthrightly, make of it a moment for serious self-examination, self-criticism, and improvement.

5. Let's use your imagination, Hasletite. The consequence of all of this was — no consequence. All the parties reassembled as co-workers in the same environment. Counseling? Discussion of what's best for the school? Consideration of all of this in terms of fitness to continue doing extra stuff, like coaching? The history of leave taking, hospitalization, and so forth will no doubt indicate that this non-solution was no solution at all. A situation festered. And then, because it festered, wasn't dealt with, it came out in the form it has been revealed.

6. Finally, “political agenda.” Why do those who disagree with you get to be labeled as those with a “political agenda.” But your view is without agenda?
We all want what's best for our children and youths and we all want professionalism and responsibility in those charged with teaching and administering the schools. But, as in the school board meeting, there are differing views of what that might mean….

If this is truly what he believes, I'm now not only questionning Mr. Duda's judgement but that of the presiding officer of the Haslett School Board. Anyone who starts a petition in this matter, please let us know. I believe you'll get more than a few signatures. I'm just shocked some of these people have jobs…

I didn't see the 'deflection' or 'hiding' on Mr Dudas part that you describe. On the contrary. Taking actions that would precipitate lawsuits that the district would clearly lose seems to me a pretty irresponsible path to consider. With three prosecutors reviewing and backing away from it there was hardly legal legs to stand on with which to take the action you speak of. If it is such a clear cut case, why have they all backed away? Add to that, as was repeatedly mentioned, the events are completely outside the board’s jurisdiction. I'm mystified as to how you arrive at your conclusion.

I don’t condone what happened. The behavior was indefensible. But so also is the embellishment of how awful the incident was. You make the shaming sound like they water boarded her hours after a hearty torturing session and then sent her home. It should be acknowledged that Ms. Piechotte was hardly Mother Teresa in this story. By her own admission, she got drunk, got high, and passed out. The reality is that consenting adults, drank too much, did stupid things, and decided to bring a camera. The whole incident is an embarrassment for everyone. Nothing more, nothing less. If this is as serious a story as you describe then the journalists of the world need to spend a lot more time in bars and at parties where they’ll find a target rich environment to catch the next eye popping news flash.

The natural consequences of these events have caused the teachers involved, and their families a 'shaming' of their own at least equal to that of Ms. Piechotte. And certainly their poor judgment outstripped hers.

Those that know the teachers well (some spoke on their behalf at the meeting) do not want to see their careers thrown away over a lapse of judgment. Until this event, they have led successful careers, dedicated to the development of our youth. If anything is to be done, it should be something that leaves a pathway for all of them to recover their names and vocation. It should also be free of all of the political agendas. Cumulatively, they have many good years of service yet to give. It would be an additional tragedy to throw them away in anger.

Lastly, with regard to ambivalence toward an openly gay person. I don’t think it was ambivalence rather than it being treated as the non-issue which I believe it was. What happened was wrong without regard to any specific personal detail or details of anyone involved.

It’s here we see the real life consequence of poor choices. In making the best of things, it has prompted some very healthy conversations with our children at the dinner table.

However, if the board focuses only on policy without addressing the culture that
1. allows some teachers to conduct themselves inappropriately through their emails, behavior in classes, in staff meetings, and with students, while certain others are written up for minor or nonexistent infractions, and given ultimatums to encourage them to leave the district,

2. assures that students face consequences for unacceptable behavior, while taking no action when teachers engage in illegal and violent behavior,

3. chooses an expedient route of inaction and secrecy rather than the more difficult, but ultimately more courageous and moral path of action and transparency,

4. fosters a climate where students, parents and staff cannot openly express concerns about unfair practices for fear of retaliation,

5. treats victims (students as well as staff) as villains in hopes that they will simply “go away,”

6. puts the reputation of the district before the well-being of students and staff,

no systemic change will occur.

Two years ago, Haslett Public Schools had an opportunity to do the right thing, but chose to sweep the situation under the rug. They have been given another chance . . . I sincerely hope the result of their current efforts will not simply be revised written documents and pointless workshops that the majority of the staff does not even need. This is their chance to become the district that had the moral fiber to take an honest look at themselves and, finally, do the right thing.

The superintendent hid behind alleged legal counsel advice and failed to comment on the factual statement from a law school professor and parent in the audience that he'd actually received improper or narrow advice and that there was a whole arena of personnel practice and action possible to discipline or put teachers on notice short of termination of employment. Nothing was placed in their files, nothing was done to place them on notice, nothing was done to remove them from voluntary activities. The superintendence expressed his feelings about the event — “obnoxious” — but has to date taken no effective action in a matter pending two years on something he finds so “obnoxious.”

A misguided parent with attitude started off talking constructively about
“responsibility” but then thought it was all a matter of “extortion” by the vicrtim in the case — thereby offering defamation as a solution to a public problem. Other parents engaged in much too easy forgiveness, forgetting that it is not theirs to forgive when an incident happens to another.

One parent actually talked about refusing to look at the sordid pictures. But such pictures are obviously part of the incident, forensic evidence of a sort. Here we see teachers marking the body of a fellow teacher who is in no condition to give her consent. They draw obscene images and write obscene words and mark her body that they were there. The images are also commentaries on their ambivalent relationship to a person who is openly gay. And then finally they take pictures — why? — so they can relive the moment and share it with others? So they can remember it and enjoy it?

Something really pretty serious happened in Haslett. But there are too many people seeking to get beyond community embarassment, to manage and sanitize the news, to sustain district reputation and get to other matters, while, in my opinion, there are not enough people addressing what happened, what it meant, what it continues to mean, and what are the range of possible remedies. There are too many people hiding behind the failure of county officials to prosecute or act efficiently (so then there was no crime and we can all forget about it), and too many people finding in the ways the news finally got out the supposed real story as a substitute for the actual one.

A healthy school district and its administration and board confront a challenge when it arises, do not sanitize it, deal with it directly and creatively. They use it to shine a light of self-criticism on the people involved, the institution, its leadership, and even district, and they learn from it and make of it a broader educating experience to make real things better — not just manage the news.