Schools must protect students with vigilance

Parents put huge trust in public school systems, not only to provide adequate education to their children but also to protect them from abuse. The handling of allegations at Waipahu High School raises questions about whether that role has been honored. A thorough investigation from within is warranted.

The father of a Waipahu senior says his 17-year-old daughter told him she had been subjected to repeated sexual assaults since 2010 by Erik Y. Tamura, 37, a teacher and track and field coach at the school, who denies the allegations. The father said his daughter, a runner on the Marauders’ track and field team, told him in October about the alleged recent and past incidents, and he asked Corinne Fujieda, Waipahu High’s vice principal, for a "full investigation."

Hawaii law requires that a school official "shall immediately report the known or suspected child abuse or neglect directly to the (state) department (of Human Services) or to the police department." The initial oral report is to be followed by a written report, according to the law.

In December, the father said, a police officer at HPD’s Kapolei substation agreed to search the police database and told him she could find no record of a sexual abuse complaint against Tamura. Since then, Tamura has been charged with three counts of sexually assaulting the daughter; he turned himselfin at the main police station on Feb. 3 and was released on bail the next day. He appeared in District Court Wednesday, and was put on paid leave from the school on Thursday.

The criminal court process should provide some indication of whether the Department of Education fulfilled its obligation in handling the accusation that had been passed on from student to father to Fujieda. Tamura is scheduled to appear in court on March 5, and his defense attorney maintains that he is "100 percent innocent of the charges."

Upon Tamura’s release by police, the father said he received a registered letter by Waipahu Principal Keith Hayashi saying the school’s investigation concluded that "Erik Tamura did not engage in inappropriate conduct," had not violated Board of Education policies regarding student safety and welfare and had not broken rules against harassment, bullying or discrimination.

DOE spokeswoman Sandra Goya said Waipahu High officials had indeed "recently concluded an internal school investigation." School complex area Superintendent Norman Pang will review the "actions taken by school officials," she added.

Such a review appears quite warranted. The public needs to be reassured that proper procedures were followed, and will continue to be, in all serious abuse allegations.

The Waipahu controversy comes to light as the Los Angeles Unified School District copes with a scandal resulting in the arrest of two Miramonte Elementary School teachers on charges of child sexual abuse. All of the school’s teachers, administrators and staff members have been transferred to another school. Parents have protested what they say was the failure of school officials to act against the abuse.

Questions remain at Waipahu about the extent and scope of the investigation of the specific allegations against Tamura, whether the girl’s father had been promptly notified of the results and the contents of the school’s written report to police or the Department of Human Services, if such a report was made.

Parents need assurance that school officials retain a sense of urgency and know to exercise the proper vigilance in keeping their children safe.