GIRARD Trial to oust members of school board begins

Witnesses testified they told the superintendent -- not board members -- of the situation.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Visiting Judge Mitchell Shaker says he understands parents are upset with a former Girard schools superintendent, but he wants to know what board of education members knew and when they knew it.
"I can see where people are mad as hell at the superintendent, but I am not here to judge him or not to judge him," he said during trial testimony Tuesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Shaker is presiding over the attempt by Girard Concerned Parents to oust three members of the board of education: President Jamie DeVore, vice president Jane A. Harris and member Richard Ragozine. The trial, which started Tuesday, could last three days.
The suit claims board members were well aware of adverse health conditions at Girard Intermediate School in the 2000-2001 school year but did nothing to address the situation.
Atty. Sebastian Rucci, who represents the parents group, presented several witnesses who testified they were aware of health problems as early as October 2000. Many of the witnesses, including teachers and the school nurse, said they made sure then-Principal Robert Foley and then-Superintendent Anthony D'Ambrosio were aware of the health complaints. None, however, testified they ever made board members aware of the situation.
Foley testified that several times he asked D'Ambrosio for permission to send a letter about the health complaints to parents but was denied. He said he finally sent a letter March 23, 2001, after getting approval from then-board president Ragozine.
Question of when
Both Atty. Bruce A. Zaccagnini, who represents the board members, and Judge Shaker said they didn't dispute the fact school officials knew of the health concerns but wanted to know when board members were first made aware of the severity of the complaints.
"You are asking me to find whether there was gross neglect, gross neglect of duty by the board, not the superintendent," the judge said.
Most of the witnesses Tuesday said they either never addressed board members or did not talk to board members specifically until an April 2001 board meeting.
The board members contend they learned only at that meeting how many people were suffering from illnesses and that they had always relied on the superintendent to keep them informed about issues at the schools.
They also said they understood environmental testing, which was approved by the board in November 2000 at the suggestion of D'Ambrosio, was routine, since the heating and other air systems were new.
"We were interested in how the system was working because it was a brand new system," Harris said.
The school was closed May 1, 2001, because pupils, faculty and staff were becoming ill. The health problems, including itchy and burning eyes, vomiting and rashes, were the result of inadequate ventilation and fungi found in some of the carpeting, according to Clayton Group Services of Akron, an environmental consultant.
The school reopened this school year after work to resolve the problems was completed.
slshaulis@vindy.com