Statement read at School Board meeting on Aug 13 about the locker room issue

On July 10, custodial staff discovered two holes in lockers of the girl’s locker room. A storage room is adjacent to the locker room. The media had initially stated that the room was a custodial closet; the difference between these two spaces is significant in that a storage room is accessed far less frequently than a custodial closet. More importantly, the wall on the other side of the locker room has been blocked from floor to ceiling by heavy boxes and other large supplies.

The person who discovered the holes followed correct procedure by notifying the district’s custodial supervisor. He then informed the high school principal and me of the holes. After which I made the entire Board of Directors aware of the situation.

We began an internal investigation and then contacted Cambria Township police in order for them to determine if there was any possibility of criminal activity.

Inspection of the area showed that the holes did go through to the storage room. Our first reaction was an internal investigation of areas connected to all locker rooms and restrooms. There was no evidence of problems in these places.

The fact that we found no indication that a school-wide problem existed, or even that the holes had been visible from the side of the storage room, I was satisfied that a problem did not exist. I did, of course, direct the custodial crew to cover the holes on the wall of the storage room.

To summarize, the holes have been securely covered, all other lavatories and locker rooms have been thoroughly checked by the district’s head custodian and his staff, and no other holes were found.

My sincere hope is that, having been as open as I can be, without compromising the police investigation, we can return our attention to preparing our schools for the start of another great year at CCSD. Remember, the District’s policy and practice has always been openness and honesty, and the Board feels that it is important to share the facts as we know them, keeping in mind, that there is an ongoing investigation, and that any other information disseminated would compromise the investigation on the part of the School District, and possibly on the part of the Police.

Relative to that investigation, please rest assure that no incidents have surfaced which would indicate that someone has been spying on anyone through the locker room, and at this time, there is no indication of any criminal activity taking place.