Great Barrington — The possible last chapter of the controversy over the Police Department’s handling of an investigation at W.E.B. Du Bois Middle School is scheduled to play out at the Selectboard meeting on Monday, April 29, at 5:30 p.m.
Back on December 8, in an incident that captured national headlines, the Police Department sent a police officer to investigate eighth grade ELA teacher Arantzazu Zuzene Galdos-Shapiro over a copy of the book “Gender Queer” that she allegedly had, along with other allegations made against her.
Due to the subsequent controversy, including the way the Police Department and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District handled the investigation, the department, school district, and Selectboard all approved independent investigations into the incident.
In early February, the school district issued its report on the independent investigation that was conducted by Kevin Kinne from Pittsfield law firm Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook LLP. The report revealed that the allegations made against Galdos-Shapiro were false. It also revealed that the complainant, Great Barrington resident Adam Yorke, who worked as a night custodian in the school district, made the allegations against Galdos-Shapiro. During his interview for the independent investigation, Yorke recanted his claims. The investigation also revealed that Yorke previously made false allegations against another teacher back in the spring of 2023. As of February, Yorke no longer worked for the school district. A copy of the full report issued by the school district is available here.
Back at its January 31 meeting, the Selectboard approved its own independent investigation into the incident. At the meeting, Bannon said that the Selectboard-commissioned investigation would be made public but that some portions may be redacted. Bannon added that the Police Department’s investigation into the incident would not be made public.
The executive session agenda item lists that the Selectboard would “discuss strategy with respect to litigation threatened against the town” over the incident. However, as of press time on April 26, no litigation concerning the incident has been filed in the state’s court system.
The agenda for the April 29 meeting lists that the Selectboard may discuss the report in a public session.
Also on the April 29 meeting agenda is a continuation of a public hearing on a proposed addition to the Timberlyn Heights Rehabilitation Care Center building at 320 Maple Avenue. While the informational packet for the previous April 8 Selectboard meeting provides a link for a copy of the application and supplementary materials, the link no longer works as of press time on Friday, April 26.
According to the presentation that was made at the April 8 Selectboard meeting, Bear Mountain 320 Properties, the company that owns the Timberlyn Heights Care Center building, is proposing to build a 13,150-square-foot addition to the building. The existing building is a three-story, 29,000-square-foot building that currently has 71 beds for residents. If the addition is approved, it would add 12 new beds to the facility.
The plan would include cutting down 60 trees around the property to accommodate the new addition and drainage areas, but 69 trees would be planted around the property as part of a stewardship program.
The meeting is scheduled to be broadcast online via Zoom.
