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I know opihi I read all the articles and accounts of the parents. I just can't believe it. Like I said before, it just seems SO out of character. Then again @gypsi JMO that pretty petite women can be the most deceiving .lol. But,If it's true that she admitted to it, and is in fact guilty she obviously needs to be held responsible. All I can say if she is guilty, she is quite an actress. And if she is guilty and the faculty at hass did indeed cover things up, they also need to be held responsible.
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Employers are very limited in terms of what information they can legally release about employee issues. Demanding that they release information they are legally not allowed to is unfair to the school. None of us know what the TRO or the agreement with the school said, none of us know where she did or did not agree to stay away from, and the school is legally not allowed to divulge that information to the public. The school is in a tough position,the public is demanding information they cannot share without violating the law. The employee could talk all she wants to, but the school administration and governing board are not allowed to reveal much about this at all.
It would really help if people quit speculating about confidential information that almost no one is privy to, eventually the actual facts will come out, until then it is all just gossip and rumor.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Criminal TRO applications and rulings are public record though, unless there is some rule of anonymity for children. However, I have seen a criminal case TRO hearing here where minors were involved, and the parties were all in open court.
Are you sure the file isn't available for viewing at the courthouse?
Obviously the settlement agreement is confidential.
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I have not made finding out about this case my mission, so I don't know what a person with too much time on their hands could discover at the court house. My point is that personnel matters are confidential, the employer cannot legally share with the public the information that people are demanding they give out.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Hi Carol,
I do take that point. You combined the TRO and the employment issue together here as things none of us would know, and I was only replying to the TRO part:
quote:
I have not made finding out about this case my mission, so I don't know what a person with too much time on their hands could discover at the court house. None of us know what the TRO or the agreement with the school said, none of us know where she did or did not agree to stay away from, and the school is legally not allowed to divulge that information to the public.
I wouldn't characterize seeking public records as a pastime for people with too much time on their hands. That is a little unfair, and some people are retired or don't have a day job, but there is no need to denigrate them for that.
I wouldn't go look this up, because I don't have a child in the school, but I do have a special needs grandson, and if these allegations came down about his classroom, I certainly would go to the courthouse to gather information.
For anyone interested, you can get the case # from Ho'ohiki if you know the name of either of the parties to the TRO. Certain info will be online, but not details.
You call the Court Clerk in Hilo to ascertain whether the file is available and not with the judge. The Court Clerk window is to your left in the courthouse, on the first floor. You can view the file in a reading room or you can request copies (expensive and you have to come back for them.)
You are allowed to photograph the file pages with an iPhone camera or an iPad or similar, which gets you a free copy.
The file will contain the allegations, the response by the Respondent, and the judge's ruling, unless it was dropped prior to that.
Public access to information from the courts is one of our rights that can be well exercised in a case where other aspects will never see light of public eye for reasons Carol mentioned.
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Carol, I agree with you & that confidentiality is WHY parents did not find out anything until Shannon Smith showed up at the Ho`olaulea...
I think all of us can understand that IF there was an allegation & a police report & IF there was confidential agreement that Shannon Smith was supposed to stay away from HAAS & the children, IF she did show up at the Ho`olaulea, only then would it be advisable to notify the parents (and public)...
It does seem like that is what is happening at this point...
My question for Shannon Smiths' friends to think about .... If Shannon Smith has not been teaching at HAAS since January, what were you told was her reason? No need to answer this, exempt to yourself... if you are a friend, you may now have some more...interesting things to think about...
Well, there is some info online. Proceeding between the parents and the teacher for a TRO are not confidential. They are public record.
Petition for TRO against Harassment filed Feb. 25th.
Temporary (pre-hearing) TRO granted.
First hearing March 10th. Continued.
Evidentiary hearing, yesterday. Not yet updated.
Case # 3SS14-1-000076
Online court minutes of first hearing list parties and attorneys, I will not list the petitioners, but their attorney is Brian De Lima.
Smith denied the allegations.
"ORDER EXTENDING TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER SIGNED AND
FILED. COPY OF ORDER AND NOTICE TO APPEAR GIVEN
TO PARTIES IN OPEN COURT."
A copy of the TRO order was filed with HPD, meaning it would be in their records if the petitioners called the police about a violation.
On March 27th, HAAS was subpoenaed for records (presumably for use in the evidentiary hearing that was yesterday).
There was very much a TRO in place, and has been since February. The terms would be in the file and available for any member of the public to view.
The hearing was held in open court.
Whether HAAS should have disclosed the existence of the TRO to other parents or taken action at the Ho'olaulea, you who know much more about schools can debate.
A TRO like this is between the parties. The petitioners have a right to enforcement by the police. That is the mechanism. TRO's specify the locations where the Respondent may not come in proximity to the petitioner. Home and place of work are standard. In this case, one would expect the school grounds to be specified as a prohibition, but to know for sure one would need to get a copy of the Order.
Why did I look it up? Well, if there's going to be a discussion and so much is ambiguous, might as well establish the facts that can be obtained with five minutes on the computer. [  ]
PS. This is a Civil TRO and does not involve a police complaint by definition, although there might be a criminal complaint wending its way through the system. Such a complaint has not been charged at this time, or it would show up on Ho'ohiki as State of Hawaii vs. Shannon Smith.
It would not be charged until the police concluded their investigation and the Prosecutor's Office reviewed it and made a decision. The allegations in a police report are not public record until it is charged and then brought to court.
A Civil TRO is public record from the time it is filed, including the whole Petition stating all the allegations, and the entire Response.
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KathyH, thank you for the info.
Last night's meeting was moved to Black Rock Café,(Executive Session) and subsequently cancelled. Police were called, and on Hawaii News Now this morning, a video was shown with a full report. Link not available yet; will update.
JMO.
First hand report of meeting: (HawaiiNewsNow also rec'd the same)
http://damontucker.com/2014/05/14/haas-s...ommentary/
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FYI: Hawaii Tribune Herald Article
(*Snipped - More at link)
Steve Hirakami, HAAS director, said the meeting was to discuss alleged violations of a settlement between the public charter school and the teacher, Shannon K. Smith. He said Smith left before the board could speak with her because she felt unsafe after people started showing up outside.
It’s unclear if any threats were made against her. “We were unable to proceed because the teacher didn’t attend the meeting,” Hirakami said. “She got scared of the crowd.” Smith is alleged to have physically and verbally abused students. She was placed on administrative leave in January, Hirakami said. About two dozen parents waited outside HAAS’ “InDigital” building in Pahoa after discovering the meeting was not being hosted at the school campus.
Hirakami said the school changed the location of the meeting for Smith’s safety, at the request of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. He claimed HAAS, as a charter school, is exempt from sunshine laws that require meeting locations to be announced. The board exited executive session, which is closed to the public, to make a brief statement to the parents.
Board members took no questions. Several police officers were present. “Based upon what transpired, we can’t move on with business,” said Kurt Dela Cruz, HAAS board community representative. Several parents said they were frustrated by a lack of information from the school and the board’s decision to have the meeting away from campus without notifying them. Some gave thumbs down or shouted “Shame!” as board members drove away. “We were going to get an answer today,” said Cynthia Palm. “They told us.”
See more at: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...aBDNx.dpuf
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