A former assistant principal in the Rochester City School District accused by the district of "aggressively and improperly" handling elementary school students is suing to get his job back.
According to records, Vaughn Collins was hired to work at Abelard Reynolds School 42 on July 1, 2023, and was on a probationary employment through 2027. The school teaches students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. An investigation was launched by the district’s Office of Safety and Security into Collins last year after two separate incidents on Dec. 10 and Dec. 12.
Court filings show that in both incidents, Collins was accused of physically accosting students in the school cafeteria. James Sheppard, the former Rochester police chief and current director of school security and safety for the district, filed an affidavit addressing those incidents.
"I reviewed the security footage of this incident as part of my investigation, and observed Mr. Collins rushing across the cafeteria, knocking multiple students to the ground in the process, and then grab (victim) by their clothing before shaking them up and down while their head appeared to strike the wall," Sheppard wrote.
The district argued in court filings that in the second incident, video footage showed the student was not doing anything beyond leaning against a wall before being grabbed and shaken.
"Two separate investigations resulted in sustained findings of inappropriate treatment with children," reads a letter from district Director of Labor Relations Megan Abate to the Association of Supervisors and Administrators of the RCSD which was also included in the filings. "In both incidents, students were aggressively and improperly handled, including shaking their bodies back and forth and hitting heads into the wall. These actions were not justified or appropriate in light of the students’ actions preceding them."
The district sustained both allegations against Reynolds. He was terminated from his position on March 28 of this year.
But Collins, in a complaint filed against the district in July, alleged that his termination was improper. He claims that the district presented him with no meaningful evidence of the allegations and he was given no opportunity to respond to them. He also claims that he is not the one who physically touched the student.
"The district's determination was arbitrary, capricious, without a rational basis, made in violation of lawful procedure, and made in bad faith — principally because the district's own video does not support the allegations of misconduct, and because the only wrongful act captured on the video was committed by another individual, whom, upon information and belief, the district did not discipline," a filing from Collins' attorney Rick Geiger reads.
In court filings, Geiger said upon reviewing the security camera footage, he believed a school security officer was the one who actually physically abused the students. He also said the environment of the cafeteria was a factor.
"In the same video I also saw a school cafeteria being managed, in my opinion, as a chaotic and dangerous environment for children: children running and fighting, and a lack of adequate adult supervision, all of which, in my opinion, put the safety of children at risk," Geiger wrote.
Geiger also filed 9 letters of support from colleagues of Collins, as well as one from former Rochester City Councilmember Jose Peo.
Collins also argues he was never taught the correct manner for restraining students by the district.
Geiger declined to comment on the case. A district spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
Both the district and Collins recognize, in court records, that no students were physically harmed in either incident.
Collins accuses the district of terminating him in bad faith without a rational basis, and denying him an opportunity to clear his name. He is seeking reversal of his termination and to be awarded back pay.
