Firm Did Not 'Find Any Validity' to Student Abuse Claim

Source4Teachers, the firm that provided the substitute teacher who allegedly hit two kindergartners on their heads in March, did not “find any validity to the charges,” a spokesperson representing the firm said.

A substitute teacher at Pines Lake Elementary School allegedly hit Karen Veale’s son and another child on their heads March 8.

Parents and teachers spoke to the Board of Education and administrators at a meeting Thursday about the decision to outsource the hiring of substitutes to Source4Teachers. The move is saving the district $250,000.

“Source4Teachers followed its practices and investigated the accusations [in] March when the allegations were first made and did not find validity to the charges,” said Pam Boyd, a spokesperson with Thomas/Boyd Communications.

Boyd said the teacher was removed from working in the district immediately “upon notice of the allegations by the school district.” Boyd also said in the statement that standard company policy is to remove a substitute teacher at a district’s request “for any reason.”

“We’re going to cut costs on substitute teachers, we’re getting what we paid for,” Veale said at the board meeting.

Veale attempted to contact Superintendent Ray Gonzalez, Assistant Superintendent Marysol Berrios, and the Board of Education but did not receive a satisfactory response to the matter until a month later, she said.

Veale reported another incident to officials last month. A substitute could not speak English well and had trouble reading lesson plans and communicating with students, she said. Veale attempted to contact Berrios about the matter but never heard back, she said.

A task force comprised of parents, teachers, and administrators has been formed to look into the district’s use of substitute teachers.

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