LAWRENCE — School Committee member James Vittorioso told his colleagues last night that he's getting ready to call on them to launch their own investigation of suspended Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy because the criminal probe is taking too long.
"If nothing is done by the end of October, I'm going to ask for the School Committee to investigate," Vittorioso said after the meeting.
"I'll ask them to investigate certain charges and to determine if there's cause for dismissal. If there's nothing done by the end of October, there's something wrong," he said.
Laboy, 58, of Methuen, has been on administrative leave since late June when the Essex County District Attorney's Office launched a criminal probe into allegations of financial wrongdoing involving the superintendent. The grand jury has begun hearing witness testimony and reviewing documents connected to the case.
Frustrated that the investigation has been dragging on for several months without a resolution, Vittorioso broached his idea toward the end of last night's meeting.
"If this doesn't get settled by October, I'm going to go with your plan," he told Mayor Michael Sullivan, who chairs the seven-member committee.
In a story in yesterday's Eagle-Tribune, Sullivan mentioned that a School Committee investigation was one of several options that could be taken if no criminal charges were filed against Laboy.
"It was a comment he (Vittorioso) made based on a little bit of a misinterpretation of my comments in the paper today," Sullivan said last night.
"I certainly wasn't endorsing that option at this time. My personal opinion will always be to let this investigation take its course," Sullivan said. "But the committee certainly has that option at any time, if four people want to go down that road," the mayor said.
Sullivan called Vittorioso's suggestion premature, noting that the grand jury has already been meeting. Acting Superintendent Mary Lou Bergeron was expected to be called today to answer questions about documents she has provided to investigators.
Two School Committee members interviewed after last night's meeting said they felt uncomfortable talking about Vittorioso's suggestion.
Member Peter Larocque said he didn't want to comment at all about the superintendent investigation.
"There's no way we want to interfere with the DA's investigation," said member Sammy Reyes, whose complaint sparked the initial police investigation of the superintendent.
But Lawrence Teachers Union President Frank McLaughlin said after last night's meeting that he believed the committee should have been conducting its own probe from the outset of Laboy's administrative leave.
"They should be running a parallel investigation — that's my opinion," McLaughlin said.
"If a teacher gets in trouble on something involving a student, there would be a Department of Social Services investigation. There would be a police investigation and there would also be an investigation by the School Department. It's always appropriate for the School Committee to do its duty," he said.
Mayor Sullivan said the committee has been following the advice of its attorney, Naomi Stonberg, in its handling of the Laboy matter.
"And this committee has really listened to her, and we have been guided by her and the decisions that were made were recommended by her — all done in the best interests of Lawrence," Sullivan said.
If a majority of the committee supports an investigation, there's a legal process that members would have to follow, the mayor stressed.
"It's not as easy voting on it. You would need to take the first step, a vote of intent and give the superintendent an opportunity to answer the allegations or notify him of the intentions the committee is going to be doing this investigation," Sullivan said.
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