WHEATLAND, FARRELL

Farrell schools Superintendent Richard R. Rubano Jr. wishes he had the opportunity to respond to unhappy Wheatland residents in person.

Rubano said he is disappointed that residents didn’t give him the courtesy to discuss their concerns before they publicly announced a movement to secede from Farrell schools. He noted the district has a parental complaint policy.

"The board and my staff would be able to sit down with these people and go over every single issue and how it affects the students," he said.

If invited, he said he would attend a Sept. 26 town hall meeting in which residents hope to rally support for their effort.

"I’m not afraid of anything," he said. "I’m very proud of this district. I have nothing to fear."

Fear is one of the issues parents say is driving their effort. They claim Farrell teachers and administrators are afraid of students and afraid to discipline them.

"There are really good teachers, but they can’t control the classroom," said Stephanie Pacora, a 1995 Farrell High graduate and mother of a 10-month-old daughter. "I think the teachers care but they’re just afraid."

Rubano said the opposite of the claim is true.

"Our teachers do a marvelous job with student discipline," he said. "We’re not afraid of students. We do whatever it takes to keep control."

Mrs. Pacora cites personal and hearsay examples going back to elementary school of violent behavior in saying that the atmosphere at Farrell is not conducive to learning: girls fighting with batteries in socks, a boy trying to pull a girl’s pants down, a student who beat up a teacher and continual sexual harassment.

"It was very common for a guy to grab your butt when you were walking down the hall," she said.

Mrs. Pacora said she was once suspended for fighting -- "I was no angel but you have to stick up for yourself" -- but Principal Frank Sincek did nothing when she complained of sexual harassment.

She said the boy eventually hit her one day while she was walking home from school. The school again did not discipline the boy, but police prosecuted him, she said.

"I don’t want her to have to see the things that I saw and to go through the things that I went through," she said of her daughter.

When asked if other schools might have the same sorts of problems she claims for Farrell, Mrs. Pacora responded: "I would hope not because Farrell doesn’t seem to care."

Rubano said school officials are not responsible for what happens off school grounds.

"We don’t expect Mr. Sincek to discipline kids off of school property," he said. "That’s a little much."

Rubano added that sexual harassment is considered serious and the school’s policy is enforced. Monthly updates are given on case law concerning sexual harassment, he said.

Diana Mazur moved to Wheatland in April and has two children too young -- ages 4 and 2 -- to attend school. But she does not like what she has heard about the school, or the experiences of her nephews and nieces who attend.

"I have no interest in sending my children there," said Ms. Mazur, who already is planning to send her children to private school. "As a parent, I don’t want to subject my child to a bad environment and expect him to overcome that."

Ms. Mazur said safety and a lack of sidewalks and bus service are important issues to her.

Rubano said it is difficult to comment on the three-page letter that Tracy Fazekas read to Wheatland council Wednesday, which echoed Ms. Mazur’s concerns. It outlined Mrs. Fazekas’ reasons for wanting to leave Farrell and join West Middlesex.

"I can’t intelligently respond to these random allegations," Rubano said.

But he discounted Mrs. Fazekas’ claim that during a lockdown last year, teachers panicked and the school was slow to release information. He said the district has been commended by the state for its handling of the situation, and has been invited to speak before other school officials on spurring community involvement.

Mrs. Pacora said she was disappointed in the district’s response to teen pregnancy.

"It wasn’t something to be ashamed of, which I think it should have been," she said, claiming that the district doesn’t discourage pregnancy.

"We teach abstinence," Rubano countered.

Rubano added that the school has not had enough pregnant teens in recent years to qualify for a state grant that would fund a teen pregnancy program it used to offer.

Mrs. Mazur and Mrs. Pacora said they don’t mind that the effort to secede from Farrell, which appears that it will require legal counsel at some point, could conceivably be costly.

Mrs. Pacora said she’s willing to put up "as much money as I can" for the effort.

Mrs. Mazur said more Wheatland residents will likely look at sending their kids to private schools or pay tuition to send them to other public schools.

"We’re all going to pay tuition or have our taxes go up," she said.

West Middlesex’s property tax levy is 18.2 mills higher than Farrell’s.