Wilmington Officials Remain Mum On Possible Probe

WILMINGTON -- Wilmington school and town officials contacted parents last week attempting to quell fears a possible investigation of a Wilmington employee, but instead raised more questions by stating they are prohibited by law to disclose any information.

On May 11, Interim Superintendent Paul Ruggiero emailed parents to try to allay parents' fears after he was questioned about an internal investigation of a town employee.

Ruggiero wrote to parents that, due to state law, he could not confirm, deny disclose any information on the matter, but that “the Town and Wilmington Public Schools take very seriously the safety of our students and take all necessary steps with their safety in mind.”

But that email opened the floodgates of concern by parents on social media speculating about the matter. Many people who posted on social medial contacted Ruggiero demanding answers.

School Committee Chairman Steve Bjork, Ruggiero and town officials met on May 12 to draft another letter to parents, according to the Wilmington Apple.

“We apologize for any anxiety you’ve experienced, and we would like to make an attempt to offer you some level of comfort,” read the letter.

“[A] media outlet claimed to have received a tip regarding an alleged internal investigation being conducted involving a Town of Wilmington employee,” read the letter.

“ It was our intention to provide you with as much information as possible before the media potentially portrayed it as a nefarious situation occurring in your hometown. Regrettably, we are prohibited by state law from commenting about personnel issues. As a result of adhering to state law, and trying to get information to you before a newscast aired, we drafted a statement that we now realize was inadequate,” the letter states.

“We have received many emails from concerned parents posing the primary question, ‘is my child safe?’ The answer to that is, yes,” read the letter. “Without confirming or denying the matter in question, we can assure you unequivocally, based on the facts as we understand them, no child was endangered in any way. Furthermore, all precautions remain in place to ensure as best as humanly possible the safety of our children in the schools.”

The letter also addressed the “wild speculation'' popping on social media "without basis in fact'' about a specific employee being talked about on Facebook.

“One outrageous claim, that seems to be accepted as fact, is that the matter involved a vice principal of one of our schools,” read the letter.” “While we do not plan to engage in defending individuals on a person-by-person basis, this disturbing, reckless, and heartless allegation must be refuted. Such a claim could result in irreparable damage to a person’s reputation.”

Town and school leaders urged parents not to “engage in speculation or to contribute to hearsay” online.

For more on this story read the Wilmington Apple.