{"id":72015,"date":"2025-12-16T08:52:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/72015\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T08:52:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:52:14","slug":"deangelis-decries-online-speculation-that-alleged-robber-did-not-live-in-pelham-says-communications-bordered-on-threats-to-students-pelham-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/72015\/","title":{"rendered":"DeAngelis decries online speculation that alleged robber did not live in Pelham; says communications \u2018bordered on threats to students\u2019 \u2013 Pelham Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Board<\/a> <\/p>\n

Board of Education president Jackie DeAngelis<\/p>\n

Pelham Board of Education president Jackie DeAngelis decried online speculation about the residency of a Pelham Memorial High School student charged with armed robbery two weeks ago, saying that false allegations about the 16-year-old\u2019s home\u2013and claims that the school district turns a blind eye to out-of-towners unlawfully attending classes\u2013had given rise to dangerous rhetoric on the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecently, the district received communications that bordered on threats towards students and staff,\u201d DeAngelis said at last Wednesday\u2019s Board of Education meeting. \u201cThat is the kind of escalation that incorrect information and speculation can create, and the district and the board have no choice but to take communications like that very seriously. Online discussions can be helpful, but they can also amplify fear and distort what\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeAngelis began the meeting with an eight-minute address defending the school district\u2019s efforts to enforce residency requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, residency enforcement has increased significantly over the past several years,\u201d De Angelis said. \u201cThe district has engaged its third party investigator 70 times, more than 50 of which were full investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Angelis then addressed a common question within the community surrounding the efficiency of completing residency checks every few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason is that New York state, both the Attorney General\u2019s office and the New York State Department of Education prohibit districts from forcing families to continually provide residency, unless their address has changed,\u201d she said.\u00a0 DeAngelis described the district\u2019s current approach to residency checks, which includes comprehensive training for staff on recognition of residency issues, expanding the abilities and possibilities for digital registration, pooling funding into investigative and legal tools, and reminding the community to bring forward potential residency concerns. She said laws protecting student privacy prevent the district from revealing the outcomes of these investigations, and forbid officials from providing significant details regarding the arrest of a 16-year-old PMHS student two weeks ago by the Mount Vernon Police Department on charges of armed robbery.<\/p>\n

Following her address, she turned the microphone over to School Superintendent Cheryl Champ, who reiterated many of the same points.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing everything within our power to ensure that our campus remains safe and we have a supportive environment for our students and staff,\u201d Champ said. \u201cWe have a layered approach to safety and threat assessment designed to reduce potential risks and respond effectively when concerns arise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champ also addressed the possibility that the student, who had a firearm tucked in his belt during the alleged robbery according to the police report of the incident, might have brought the weapon to school at some point.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me be clear, there is no evidence to suggest that there was a weapon or safety concern on our campus,\u201d she said. \u201cIf such a situation were ever to occur, we have immediate safety protocols, including lockdown procedures that are regularly practiced to ensure everyone\u2019s safety. We recognize this whole situation is very troubling to everyone, myself included, and I know that the privacy issues that surround situations like these leave a void that just doesn\u2019t feel good to any of us. I absolutely understand that parents send their children to us every day and trust that we\u2019re taking the best care of them possible. I recognize and respect that trust and commit as always that we do every day. We will continue to do everything within our authority to keep our students safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champ then described in detail the process by which the district goes about investigating residency questions, including the amount of effort and time that goes into each investigation.\u00a0 She also described the hurdles which district faces in winning residency cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe laws are written with the child in mind, not in favor of taxpayers or the school district,\u201d she said. \u201cThe need for discretion during the investigatory process and student privacy laws prevent us from talking publicly about those specific investigations\u2026which understandably creates a perception that nothing is being done, when in reality, there is a significant amount of work being done. So, between the high bar of proof that we must meet and the restrictions on information sharing, it feels like we have two hands tied behind our back on this matter all the time. Frankly, we don\u2019t always like or agree with the outcome of these investigations, but we have to follow the law and apply it fairly. Please know we share the frustration that many in the community have with this, and please know that our commitment to enforcing residency requirements \u2026 continues to be a long-standing priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following these discussions, representatives of KG&D Architects updated the board on the latest designs for the proposed expansion at Siwanoy Elementary School.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Board of Education president Jackie DeAngelis Pelham Board of Education president Jackie DeAngelis decried online speculation about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-72015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}