Iowa City schools drafting policy to notify parents of crimes

The Iowa City school district is developing a policy on when it should tell parents when someone who works with students is accused of a crime.

Many details remain to be worked out, such as what would trigger a notification, Superintendent Lane Plugge said.

“You could be accused of many crimes,” he said. “I don't know how to delineate between when it would cross that threshold for when you would notify people.”

The move comes after a recent complaint that parents were not told when an elementary school bus driver was charged a year ago with third-degree sexual abuse of a 12- or 13-year-old.

The incident involved a family member of the bus driver, John T. Grassi of Coralville, and not a student on his bus.

Grassi, 34, was arrested in December 2008 and admitted he sexually abused a relative, according to court records. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison.

Grassi was a bus driver on a Shimek Elementary School route at the time of his arrest.

Grassi was immediately suspended and eventually fired, said Ann Kinder, spokeswoman for Durham School Services, the company the district contracts with for busing. Bus drivers are Durham employees.

Parent Lara Marsh of Iowa City said the district should have notified parents of the charges. One of her children rode that bus when Grassi was the driver.

She asked Plugge that a policy be established that requires parents be told when anyone in contact with school children is found in possession of child pornography or is guilty of any crime involving a child.

“When it's child pornography, or some sort of crime against a child, I think parents should know,” Marsh said.

Plugge said whatever form it takes, the policy will provide direction on when notification would be made, under what conditions and how it will be done.

There's no evidence that Grassi harmed any student who rode his bus, school and Durham officials said.

Kinder said all Durham drivers undergo criminal background checks before they are hired and periodically thereafter.