The superintendent of schools in Smithfield, R.I., is on paid leave amid an ongoing investigation of how an alleged antisemitic incident was handled.
The alleged incident involved five football players at Smithfield High School locking a Jewish freshman in a bathroom and spraying Lysol through a door grate while shouting antisemitic slurs, the Boston Globe reported.
The players involved were initially booted from the team for the rest of the year, but were reinstated after the superintendent, Dawn Bartz, backtracked, per the Globe.
According to local reporting, a lawyer representing the football players involved in the alleged incident claims it was not antisemitic.
The Smithfield School Committee voted on Monday to have the firm of Brennan Scungio and Kresge investigate the matter. Bartz is “on voluntary paid leave until further notice,” Robert Selzer, the town manager, told JNS.
The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island stated that it is a “significant step” that Bartz is on leave and that the alliance believes investigators will “take all necessary action to resolve this matter appropriately.”
