Parent alleges years‑long harassment by district educator; superintendent says he will follow up

A resident who identified herself as Cassandra Calderone addressed the Muscatine Community School District board during public comment on March 9, alleging that an educator in the district has for an extended period “engage[d] in ongoing harassment, bullying, targeting of both students and her colleagues,” including mistreatment of Spanish‑speaking and African students and unfair treatment of paraeducators.

Calderone said she had emailed the board and followed up after a community conversation but received no response; she provided her name and address at the meeting and handed a copy of her written concerns to board staff. “For an extended period of time, there's been an educator within our district who without clear justification has been allowed to engage in ongoing harassment, bullying, targeting of both students and her colleagues,” Calderone said.

Superintendent (speaker 3) told the board he had not received the email Calderone referenced and committed to work with the technology department to locate it and follow up directly. “I did not receive that. I will follow‑up with Cassie who spoke tonight,” the superintendent said during his update.

The complaint alleges multiple reports were made over several years by different individuals and that district administration has failed to intervene; Calderone listed examples she said included Spanish‑speaking students being ignored or denied support, African students receiving inadequate support, and paraeducators treated disrespectfully.

Board procedure for citizen speak was noted at the meeting: speakers are allowed three minutes and the board does not respond during public comment under Iowa law. The superintendent’s pledge to investigate does not represent a finding; the district has not disclosed disciplinary or investigatory action in the meeting record. The superintendent said staff would follow up with Calderone and search for the missing email to better understand the allegations.

Next steps: the superintendent said he would investigate why the message was not received, coordinate with the technology team, and report back. The board did not take formal action on the allegation during the meeting.