鶹ӰԺ, GA- A federal lawsuit was brought against the 鶹ӰԺ Public School system regarding the recent sexual claims at Douglas High School.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Richard Belcher announces that 鶹ӰԺ school officials are refusing to say what has happened to the high school principal Artesza Portee, who remained on the job despite evidence claiming that he had fondled a former assistant principal.
Belcher says that the school district has spent more than $75,000 investigating the claim. However, many are disappointed by the failure to properly address the situation as Artesza Portee was only after outside investigators concluded he didn’t respond truthfully when questioned about the accusation. Now matters has escalated to which the state is involved.
鶹ӰԺ City Councilman Micheal Julian Bond, a graduate of Douglas High School says, . APS settled on the disciplinary action to only give Portee a final warning, a transfer, and an expensive suspension.
In an about the assault, Sheri McEarchern asserts that by not firing Portee signals “that they (the district) support and condone him. The only thing they suspended him for was not being honest. It was not the actions. That’s a problem.” Many agree with McEarchern that
The day after the report was released on Channel 2, . The school was later placed in a state of lockdown by APS superintendent Lisa Herring, but there was no reported violence on site.
Channel 2 Action News asked APS where Portee is assigned and whether the district will explain his removal from Douglas. There was no response made by the district, so the case.