- District says move is unrelated to 2013 texting scandal
Dr. Angelo Romaniello
CALN — Just days after the naming of the next Superintendent of Schools, another Coatesville Area School District administrator is the focus of an investigation, after the district put Assistant Superintendent Angelo Romaniello on administrative leave, Tuesday morning, pending the outcome of an investigation by county, state and district investigators, the district’s solicitor, James Ellison, said in a statement.
According to the statement, posted on the district Website Tuesday afternoon, the CASD administration and Board of School Directors “will be cooperating fully with the authorities and hope to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”
The district formally introduced Dr. Cathy Taschner last week, and she is expected to be formally hired as the new Superintendent of Schools later this month.
In the statement, Ellison said that the ongoing investigation of Romaniello is unrelated to the 2013 texting scandal, which led to the resignation of former superintendent Richard Como and Coatesville Area High School Athletic Director James Donato. That incident, which made national headlines, involved racially charged comments texted on district phones, allegedly by Como and Donato. The district has been the subject of an ongoing investigation — and is thought to have been under investigation by county authorities prior to the texting scandal becoming public.
As that investigation continued, the district statement said, information was “uncovered by district staff and reported to the authorities,” leading to the decision to place Romaniello on leave.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities and following state reporting procedures,” said Dr. Leonard Fitts, acting superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District, in the statement. “Since this is a current investigation and personnel matter, at this time we are unable to provide more details. However, once the investigation has been concluded, CASD administration and the Board of School Directors will provide a full report to the community. We ask for the community’s patience and understanding until the investigation is completed and all the facts are known.”
In the statement, Fitts said the Board of Education met in a special executive session to discuss the allegations as well as what actions to take going forward. Romaniello was told Tuesday morning, shortly after he arrived at the district office, that he was being placed on leave.
