By Josh Resnek
The School Department Administration and all its administrators throughout the school system and its facilities have been made to sign agreements cutting their contacts with former School Superintendent of Schools Frederick Foresteire.
This is believed to be an effort to allow proceedings against the former superintendent to move forward unfettered.
In addition to being warned not to speak with Foresteire, employees who signed agreed to ask Foresteire to leave the premises if he shows up at a school or any one of the School Departments many venues throughout the city.
“We are not allowed to speak with him according to the agreement,” said a School Department employee (one of many we have spoken with), who wished to remain unnamed.
The bulk of the agreements were signed and sealed during the past ten days at the request of the School Department’s lawyer, sources told the Leader Herald.
Foresteire is facing two investigations into allegations of sexual harassment, which he vehemently denies.
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is hearing at least one case, and the School Committee has hired an attorney to conduct an independent investigation into the sexual harassments charges.
The scope of that investigation has not yet been determined.
Efforts to reach Attorney Regina Ryan, who has been hired to conduct the independent investigation, were unsuccessful.
Efforts to reach Attorney Robert Galvin, who is now advising the School Committee and who instituted the no speaking and contact ban on Foresteire, were also unsuccessful.