Matthew Gagat Charges Weren't Reported To District: Superintendent

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP, PA — The School District of Haverford Township is continuing to deal with the fallout over fifth grade teacher Matthew Gagat's two separate criminal cases that allege he masturbated in public.

Gagat 47, of Horsham, and a teacher at Lynnewood Elementary School, is charged with open lewdness, indecent exposure, and disorderly conduct crimes in Montgomery and Bucks counties. He was charged in Montgomery County on March 8 and in Bucks County on July 8.

Gagat has been suspended and has been directed to not be present on district property or in district buildings.

Superintendent Maureen Reusche, Ed.D., said the district only learned of the charges on July 22 when a reporter contacted the district about the charges filed against Gagat.

"Perhaps the most urgent question is, how was a teacher allowed to continue in a classroom after charges were brought in March, and why did the District first learn of this through a news reporter," she asked in a letter to the community Thursday.

According to Reusche, every public school employee who has contact with children is legally obligated to notify their employer within 72 hours if they are convicted of or arrested on and charged with any one of about two dozen crimes, per the Pennsylvania School Code.

Additionally, she said the district has a policy requiring professional employees to notify the officials within 72 hours if they are arrested or convicted of a crime.

"Our employees sign a document acknowledging and agreeing to this when hired," she said. "The District has never received notification of the charges from this employee."

Were the district to be notified, Reusche said officials would have immediately removed Gagat from the classroom.

"We then would have started the process that provides the employee with due process rights under the PA School Code, before discipline, including suspension and/or termination can be imposed" she said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education is alerted to public educator arrests and charges filed aginast them through a state system, and that information is then supposed to be entered into the state’s Teacher Information Management System database, she said.

Ideally, the superintendent and "certifying officer" then get notifications from the department.

However, Reusche said the district has no "record of receiving any notification."

"We continue searching our system to see if this notification was somehow missed," she said. "The fact that we were not notified is extremely alarming and simply unacceptable. It prevents us from immediately taking the steps necessary to ensure our students are safe; undermines our professional integrity; and has caused significant concern."

She went on to say the department has not provided the district with any evidence that notification was sent, or that the district received any notification.

"The system set up by the state appears to have failed in providing us with the critical information we needed," she said.

Resuche said Carrie Rowe, the Deputy Secretary of Education for Pennsylvania, ensured her an investigation would take place regarding the apparent lapse in the system.

"We are deeply sorry for the impact this is having on our community, our families, and especially our children," she said. This matter is complex and multi-layered, and we do not expect or intend that this one follow-up email will adequately address the issue, particularly for the Lynnewood Elementary School community that has been most directly impacted. We take our responsibility to care for our students very seriously, and safety and welfare must be our priority."