At least one Enosburg Falls High School student has been disciplined after an internal investigation confirmed that they used racist language during a girls junior varsity basketball game last week against Middlebury Union High School.
The results of the investigation were shared Tuesday, about a week after the game, in a letter from Enosburg Falls High Assistant Principal Timothy Trevithick. The school’s principal, Joseph Donarum, was put on leave Feb. 11 after repeating offensive language over the building’s intercom system that students had allegedly used during the game.
In addition to being disciplined, at least one Enosburg Falls student also will “be asked to engage in learning about this behavior and make amends,” Trevithick said.
The school’s investigation also found that a separate “inappropriate statement” was made during the game, though officials have not been able to identify who made it.
And, school officials identified an adult in the community who has made “inappropriate statements” at school events before, Trevithick said. Officials will contact them, he said, “to ensure that the safe and welcoming standards of our school and school events are respected.”
The assistant principal said he met with community members and student leaders on Tuesday to talk about the ways people can hold one another accountable.
“I am asking all of you — if you hear or see something please say something to disrupt harm,” he said in the letter, which was addressed to students and their families.
General admission is now allowed at Enosburg Falls basketball games, Trevithick said, after tickets were limited starting Feb. 11 to only the families of student athletes. The initial decision to limit public attendance drew strong pushback from local residents on social media last week.
Lynn Cota, superintendent of the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union, which includes Enosburg Falls High, did not immediately respond to an email seeking an update on the investigation into Donarum’s comments and his employment status.
Donarum announced in November 2021 that he is retiring at the end of the school year, per a Facebook post from the district. His replacement — who is a Winooski School District educator, according to the St. Albans Messenger — was announced Feb. 7.
This is the second investigation into alleged racist abuse that Enosburg Falls High has conducted during the 2021-22 academic year.
In October, school officials found no evidence of claims by Winooski school officials that Enosburg Falls boys soccer players and fans hurled racial slurs at Winooski players of color during a game the month before.
