POUGHKEEPSIE – A school monitor at the Governor Clinton Elementary School in Poughkeepsie has not been to work since September and will remain out while he is investigated for allegedly engaging in inappropriate behavior with a child. The allegations were made public at a recent Poughkeepsie City School District (PCSD) Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
A relative of the monitor, Gabriella Bradford, began to publicly speak about his alleged child abuse at the meeting and she was quickly silenced by BOE President Tom O’Neill. Raising concerns of legal issues including slander and libel, O’Neill asked the woman to meet privately with PCSD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, Dr. Timothy Wade, and another district employee that evening. The woman had indicated that she had raised her concerns with the district and the allegations went unanswered. Superintendent Dr. Eric Rosser directed Dr. Wade to meet with her right then and directed him to determine the cause of the breakdown in communication between the district and the woman.
According to Bradford, her 54-year-old uncle has had inappropriate contact with a child who resides with him in his Hyde Park home. The PCSD has contacted Hyde Park Central School District Superintendent Aviva Kafka and advised her of the allegations. Kafka, according to Dr. Rosser, will have her district investigate the allegation to guarantee that the child is not at risk of abuse.
On March 2nd, the day after the allegations were made public, Dr. Rosser sent a memo to the district community informing them of the allegations. Rosser noted that the employee has not reported to work in the PCSD since September 2022 due to an unrelated issue. A source told Mid-Hudson News that the monitor sent an inappropriate text to a co-worker. The man is said to have informed the district of the message. The text recipient has since left his position in the PCSD.
The memo indicated the monitor will not be returning in the near future due to the new investigation. “If the allegation of inappropriate behavior with children residing at the same residence proves to be true, this part-time employee will be terminated from the Poughkeepsie City School District,” Rosser wrote.
The superintendent’s letter included a reminder that innocence is presumed and no decision will be made until all available facts are obtained.
