La Salle-Peru High School parts ways with administrator for ‘failure’ to respond properly in student assault cases

A La Salle-Peru High School administrator was put on leave and then let go for “misconduct,” including failing to respond appropriately to an alleged incident of student abuse on campus, school records show.

Brian Shaver, the school’s former associate principal for school safety, was suspended with pay on Jan, 31 for failing to respond properly after a student alleged they were assaulted by a relative while in the school on the morning of Jan. 26, records obtained in response to a Freedom of Information Act request show. The L-P school board approved a separation agreement with Shaver on March 7.

Shaver declined to comment for this story. Below Shaver’s signature on the Jan. 31 separation notice, however, he wrote “sorry to say I received but do not agree.”

The student initially filed a report with the Peru Police Department and the matter was later transferred to the La Salle Police Department. The suspension notice stated the police called School Resource Officer Nick Martin the evening of Jan. 26. According to the suspension notice, Martin “could not answer any of their questions because he had not been made aware of the circumstances.”

Martin approached Shaver the next morning, and denied having any information about the alleged assault, according to records. Shaver’s suspension notice also stated Shaver falsely “blamed” a colleague for the lack of information.

According to the suspension notice, Shaver later told Superintendent Steve Wrobleski he knew what had happened by the afternoon of Jan. 26. Wrobleski asked, according to the notice, whether Shaver misled Martin that next morning by blaming another colleague because he did not want Martin to know Shaver had failed his responsibility to call Martin. Shaver answered, “yes,” according to the notice.

“You failed to demonstrate professional judgment and failed to protect the integrity of another staff member,” Wrobleski said in Shaver’s suspension notice. “Your failure to communicate to the SRO and principal in a timely manner information about a serious student safety allegation and your resultant cover-up disrupted the work environment impacting the operations of the School Safety Office, Student Support Services’ Office, Principal’s Office and District Office.”

Wrobleski declined to comment on the documents or answer questions about the separation.

Shaver’s response to the student’s alleged abuse was one of four incidents between August and January in which he received a warning or disciplinary action for failing to perform his job duties, the records show.

Shaver received three written directives from supervisors instructing him to improve his honesty, communication and professional judgment in a five-month time period. He was put on a one-day paid suspension in October and received a letter of reprimand in September for improperly handling an alleged physical assault of a student, records show.

In the Jan. 31 suspension notice, Wrobleski cited violations from two previous incidents as reasons for the paid suspension and possible termination of his employment.

“It is my belief you are in violation of insubordination of written directives received from the superintendent on Sept. 30, 2022, and Oct. 27, 2022, for which you received previous discipline; and violated the terms of your employment contract,” Wrobleski wrote in the Jan. 31 suspension notice.

On Sept. 30, Shaver was sent a letter of reprimand for his handling of an alleged physical assault of a student on campus.

Shaver received an email from parents who said their child was physically assaulted by two other students the morning of Sept. 14, according to the letter of reprimand. Shaver reviewed the security videos and told Wrobleski the student was not choked, according to the letter. Wrobleski said in the letter he later watched the video with Shaver and saw two students had their hands on the one who was assaulted, including around the throat.

The letter stated Shaver did not interview the two students and said they spent additional class periods with the student they allegedly attacked. Shaver did not read the victim’s statement, interview the two perpetrators or accept help from other administrators, according to the letter.

“When I asked you why this investigation was not your highest priority and what you were doing after the security interviews, you said that you did not see this as a high priority and that you had the ‘normal office’ things going on,” Wrobleski wrote in the letter.

When Wrobleski asked why Shaver said the student was not choked when it looked like he was, according to the video, Shaver was reported in the letter saying, “I don’t have a defense. I thought it was better to keep my mouth shut.”

Wrobleski said in the Sept. 30 letter that Shaver’s “failure” to adhere to policies and procedures, job duties and previous directives – received from Principal Ingrid Cushing in August – was “unacceptable.”

“You demonstrated incredibly poor professional judgment,” Wrobleski wrote in the September letter, later adding, “Furthermore, it is my belief that you were not forthright in your responses. Too many responses ended with ‘I don’t recall.’”

The August directives from Cushing said Shaver needed to improve his honesty, communication and professional judgment, according to an Aug. 15 memo from Cushing to Shaver.

The directives were in response to taking on a job outside his job description and creating confusion, neglecting to complete assigned tasks and failing to come forward with important information for a student safety investigation, according to the memo.

Aside from the initial set of August directives and the cases of assault, Shaver also was put on one day of paid leave in October, records show.

According to the Oct. 27 letter of suspension, there was confusion over a matter of hours for a greeter employee. Shaver said the employee asked for a change in hours and he did not grant it, according to the letter. Time card records, however, show the hours were changed and Shaver signed his approval on the time cards.

“Your approval of her shift change violates the collective bargaining agreement and opens the district to a grievance,” Wrobleski said in the Oct. 27 suspension letter.

In response, according to the records, Shaver said “I don’t pay attention to what I sign. I just looked at the total hours reported. That’s on me.”

Shaver received a letter of one day paid suspension and additional directives for future improvement.

Shaver’s annual salary was $80,000. According to the separation agreement, L-P was to pay Shaver until March 31, including 16 unused vacation days after the end of the month. Part of the agreement included a reference letter for Shaver to use when seeking future employment opportunities.

Shaver submitted his letter of resignation on March 4 and the Board of Education approved the separation agreement March 7.