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Lapses cited in graffiti incidents
Report on Newton schools’ response heavily redacted
By Ellen Ishkanian
Globe Correspondent

An independent investigation into two incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at Day Middle School in Newton confirmed that the principal did not notify central school administrators or police afterward, and there was “no outreach’’ to faculty or parents.

The investigator’s report, released Friday by the Newton School Committee’s attorney, was heavily redacted to delete all references that could identify school personnel, and it shed little light on why the graffiti was not immediately reported.

“Burn the Jews’’ was found written on the wall of a boys’ bathroom in October, and a swastika was found trampled in snow outside the school in January, but the public was not made aware until late February, when an anonymous letter was sent to city and school officials and the Anti-Defamation League.

Principal Brian Turner later apologized to the Day community for not reporting the incidents at the time they occurred.

“There was no outreach to the faculty or the parent community after each incident,’’ the report stated. There was “no communication’’ to either the police, as is required in school policy, or to “supervisors, the assistant superintendent of schools, or the superintendent.’’

Newton Teachers Association president Michael Zilles said while he backs the decision to redact much of the report’s details, it is important for the community to understand that teachers asked Turner to talk with the Day community about the incidents.

“Faculty in that building knew the gravity of what happened, and they were not going to let this go away; they were going to make sure the right thing got done,’’ Zilles said.

The report recommends that Superintendent David Fleishman review any “current protocols that outline the communication policies’’ with administrators at Day and throughout the system.

Mayor Setti Warren said last week that civil rights attorney Richard Cole has already started working with police and will begin working with school administrators on protocol training to deal with all types of discrimination, civil rights issues, and hate speech starting now.

The 12-page report by Ray Shurtleff was commissioned by the school department to “conduct [a] careful and thorough independent investigation into the two anti-Semitic graffiti incidents at Day Middle School, the school administration’s response to these incidents, and any other related issues.’’

Four of the pages released are almost completely blank, three have just a few sentences that were not redacted, and the rest of the released report largely refers to the schools’ policies on reporting and dealing with hate crimes and issues of harassment and discrimination.

“The school department has received clear advice from our outside legal counsel as to what to disclose and what should remain confidential, and they are following that advice, which is exactly what I’d expect them to do,’’ School Committee Chairman Matt Hills said Friday.

In his letter accompanying release of the redacted report, attorney David M. Connelly wrote that portions dealing with “related reaction, action, or lack of action by administrators or faculty involved or knowledgeable about’’ the incidents are not public records.

“These sections of the report are personnel records, as the information contained therein pertains to specific and identifiable employees and would be considered useful in making employment decisions regarding those employees,’’ he wrote.

The redacted copy of the report, which the Globe requested under the state’s public records law, contains only a few paragraphs describing what happened after the graffiti was discovered.

“On October 15, 2015, several students were leaving [redacted] classroom to use the nearby boys’ bathroom,’’ one notation says. “One of those students reported to [redacted] that there was something written on the bathroom stall wall. [Redacted] went to the bathroom and saw the anti-Semitic graffiti, ‘Burn the Jews,’ written in pencil on the stall wall. [Redacted] proceeded to take a picture of that graffiti and then sent an e-mail first to [school administrators].’’

Nearly a page later the report states: “On the evening of October 15, a parent [redacted] sent an e-mail to [redacted] in which the parent stated that one of [redacted] kids ‘shared a picture from the boys bathroom that said Burn the Jews.’ ’’

The next notation states that “On Friday, January 22, [redacted] a Day Middle School teacher, saw a swastika imprinted in the snow near a bike rack outside of Day. [Redacted] sent an e-mail with a photo of that swastika at 4:55 p.m.’’

?The report goes on to say: “Similar to October, there was no communication with the faculty or central office or the police re: this swastika.’’

Ellen Ishkanian can be reached at eishkanian@gmail.com.