NORTHAMPTON — A high school custodian has been placed on paid administrative leave after school officials learned of “two unusual structural modifications” to a girls bathroom, according to Northampton Schools Superintendent John A. Provost.
Provost made the announcement to the school community Thursday and sent letters to parents and guardians about the incident.
“This morning I was informed that, while repairing a leak, our maintenance staff had discovered two unusual structural modifications to a first-floor girls bathroom at Northampton High School,” Provost wrote. “Because these unauthorized modifications raised concerns for student privacy, we immediately contacted the Northampton Police Department to investigate. We also reported the finding to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. We closed the bathroom while crime scene investigators gathered evidence. The bathroom will be repaired and reopened once the police investigation is concluded.”
Capt. John Cartledge of the Northampton Police said his department was informed of the allegations Thursday morning and the incident is being investigated by the Northampton Police detectives bureau as well as the school resource officer. The school district has launched its own workplace investigation.
“There is absolutely no evidence of any connection with any other school in the district but we are having all bathrooms, locker rooms and changing spaces inspected out of an abundance of caution,” Provost said Friday. “We feel it is important to communicate with our families and we will continue to communicate any time any new information is available.”
Northampton High sophomore Kaleb Zuckerman, 15, told the Gazette after school Friday that the structural modification was a hole in the wall between the bathroom and custodian’s closet. The school held an assembly on Thursday, he said, explaining that there was an ongoing investigation into the matter.
“They really haven’t told us much at this point,” Zuckerman said.
Provost confirmed that all students were informed Thursday during multiple small assemblies of 50 to 70 students held throughout the day.
He declined to provide specific details about the modifications or the proximity of a custodial closet to the bathroom. All other bathrooms, locker rooms and changing areas at the high school were inspected and nothing out of the ordinary was found, Provost wrote in the letter to parents and guardians.
“I don’t know the whole story but I do know that people feel uncomfortable about it,” said freshman Branden Dostal, 15, also interviewed after school Friday.
The city’s Central Services Department employs nine custodians to work at the high school in two shifts — three work a day shift and six are second-shift employees, the department’s Director David Pomerantz said.
Mayor David Narkewicz, who serves as the chairman of the Northampton School Committee, said in a statement that he could not discuss the investigation and deferred questions to Provost.
“Superintendent Provost has kept me and the other members of the School Committee apprised of the ongoing police investigation at Northampton High School,” Narkewicz said.
Staff Writer Sarah Robertson contributed to this report.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.