LAFAYETTE, L.a. — KATC is following up on a controversial Lafayette Parish School System in-service that some teachers say was offensive and inappropriate.
LPSS teachers attended training sessions on school shootings and mass murderers on November 1. Some we spoke with say they were subjected to graphic sexual and violent content from someone they don't believe was qualified to give the training.
KATC wanted to know more, so we filed a public records request to the school board — and though it took over a week for us to get it back, it's in, and it's just four pages long.
The records request we submitted asked questions regarding the in-service's speaker, Phil Chalmers, how much it cost to have him present, his resume and experience, and any other documents sent to teachers regarding the November 1 training sessions.
The school board's Office of Risk Management gave us the performance agreement between the district and Mr. Chalmers, an invoice showing what he was paid for his presentations, and a memorandum to all school-based employees in Lafayette Parish.
The invoice, signed by Superintendent Irma Trosclair, shows that an "all-inclusive" $3,500 was billed to Munich Reinsurance through Aliant Insurance Services for Phil Chalmers. It doesn't, however, specify what that all-inclusive cost includes.
In a written apology to those who attended the in-service dated November 2, Trosclair noted that once the administration saw the graphic material in Chalmers' first session, it was removed from the second.
KATC spoke with Phil Chalmers regarding his experience. He said he is not formally educated in criminal profiling, but instead invests his personal time and energy in the subject.
The records requests we received from LPSS do not explain the process used by the school board to select Chalmers for this training, nor how the board vetted his background and experience.
We asked Trosclair these questions, but she declined to comment. A representative for LPSS told KATC they will not have anyone available to speak with us about the training sessions at this time, but if anything changes, we will keep you updated on what we find out.
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