Lopatcong Township parents want established code of conduct for teacher-student relationships

LOPATCONG TWP. | The tragedy of the Keri Ann Brekne case is something Lee Rozycki said she never wants to see happen again.

Tuesday night, the 49-year-old township resident shared a letter she wrote to the school board, calling for more vigilance in teacher-student relationships.

The mother of a Phillipsburg High School student, Rozycki asked the board to examine and better define school conduct.

"What is the school's role in delineating appropriate behavior toward children?" Rozycki asked school officials Tuesday night.

The response from board attorney Mark Toscano was short and uninformative.

"The board has no official comment on the matter and cannot comment further," Toscano said before emphasizing once more, "No further comment can be made."

Toscano said a collective response from the board will be available later.

Brekne, of Bethlehem, was sentenced earlier this month in Northampton County Court to up to 30 years in prison for molesting a female middle school student. She is awaiting sentencing on similar charges in Warren County.

The attorney for the victim's family, Gregory Gianforcaro, said Wednesday that a civil suit against the school district is being looked into, but there had been no decision to pursue it as of yet.

"There is nothing looming," he said.

Susan Flanagan, 44, of Lopatcong Township, echoed Rozycki's call for better district awareness and expressed her disappointment Wednesday in the lack of response.

"We didn't get an answer, even a minimal one," she said.

Rozycki said Wednesday that she understood the seriousness and complexity of the questions she brought before the board and didn't expect an immediate answer but called Tuesday night's response "rude."

"It was my heartfelt way of saying to the board and the community, let's take this and get something positive out it," she said. "Let's learn our lessons and make improvements."

Rozycki expressed concern about the gray area in teacher-student relationships when an instructor casts him or herself more as a friend than a mentor. Texting, gifts and lunch dates were examples Rozycki used to cite behavior not prohibited but not necessarily appropriate, either.

Rozycki said she sympathizes with board members who cannot comment because of legal obligations but hopes healthy discussions about safety are not sacrificed.

"Otherwise," she said, "how do we, as a public, know something is being done?"

Reporter Sarah Wojcik can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at swojcik@express-times.com.