An investigation has been launched by Bristol Borough authorities into accusations that a school district teacher made sexually inappropriate remarks to students at least twice, with the second incident occurring last month.
While school district officials met in executive session Thursday evening, Bristol Borough Police met with a student who was the target of inappropriate remarks.
The teacher in question, whose name Lower Bucks Source is withholding for now, allegedly said to one student about the second, “I know you want to eat his/her goodies.”
There is at least one additional witness who heard the sexually fusing comment.
The same teacher, according to a “concerned parent”, allegedly pulled the hair of a student earlier this school semester.
Trouble within the school district for about the last three years has been minimal due in large part to the presence of Bristol Borough Police officer Ashley Beck who serves as the School Resource Officer at Snyder-Girotti Elementary School under a federal grant. Beck’s presence with students and parents has provided a different type of security since she is the first female police officer on duty since 2014.
Credit: Sunshine Foundation
The only major community safety issue, with Beck at the elementary school and the “beefed up” police patrol at the high school was the suspension of school district security guard in 2023 due in part to breaking professional/student boundaries.
The reports cited inappropriate text message exchanges between the suspended security guard and high school student(s). The exact nature of the text messages, according to sources, were not sexually explicit however they concerned school officials when brought to their attention.
Alleged screenshots of text messages between the guard and the student(s) he was in contact with show an ongoing relationship that could be characterized as inappropriate due to the age differences and general boundaries between students and administration.
School District officials were unavailable for comment this evening as their meeting was still underway. Lower Bucks Source did send messages to two officials before and during the meeting, which went unreturned.
The school district solicitor did not mention any specific personnel matters, such as suspensions, or temporary leaves of absence, discussed during the executive session.
One of the two students the inappropriate comment(s) were directed at has hired an attorney to represent their interests, sources confirmed Thursday night. The second student, according to sources who asked to remain anonymous. had yet to be interviewed by police, nor has his/her parents been made aware of the incident, as of publication time.
“I’m amazed they didn’t feel it was important enough to address,” a concerned parent said in response to the school board meeting ending at 8:35 p.m.