St. Tammany Parish School District Interim Superintendent Steve Alfonso joined other school leaders in a meeting with law enforcement to discuss mandatory reporting.
St. Tammany Parish Public School System administrators met with local law enforcement partners and representatives from the district attorney’s office Wednesday morning for an in-depth discussion focused on school safety protocols and procedures.
According to a news release issued by the district, the two-hour session gave principals and district administrators the opportunity to hear directly from law enforcement and prosecutors, ask questions, and talk through real-world situations they may encounter on their campuses.
The discussion focused on providing administrators with greater clarity about procedures, strengthening communication among agencies, and ensuring school leaders have the information and guidance they need when responding to incidents involving students and schools, according to a statement issued by the district.
Alfonso said the meeting was an important opportunity to bring key partners together and make sure everyone has a clear understanding of roles, responsibilities, and procedures.
STPPS said it will continue working closely with law enforcement and community partners to support safe schools for students and employees.
This comes just days after Alfonso was appointed interim superintendent following the abrupt retirement of former superintendent Frank Jabbia.
Alfonso will serve as the interim superintendent for the remainder of the 2026-27 school year.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our students, employees, and community in this role,” Alfonso said. “We have important work ahead of us. My focus is on supporting our students and schools, working alongside our employees and families, and moving our School System forward.”
About Alfonso:
Alfonso is stepping into office with a master’s in educational leadership and 19 years of experience in education.
Starting as a schoolteacher and worked his way up to roles like assistant principal, supervisor of transportation and associate superintendent, where he was head of admin and HR.
School board pushes vote on potential probe:
Alfonso’s appointment comes as the St. Tammany Parish School Board continues to consider an investigation with an independent firm to evaluate every school site and the central office following two principals who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from failing to report child abuse.
The independent firm will look for compliance with the administrative processes, communications, and mandatory reporting. All of the findings will then be delivered to the school board.
The school board was set to vote on this at its Oct. 8 meeting, but that vote has now been pushed.
School Board president Amanda Martin sent this statement:
“To remain fiscally responsible, we are looking into using other government agencies to review our district. Representatives Egan and Carver are helping us explore these options. If we ultimately need a p private firm, we will follow our standard RFP and open bid processes. This must be a collaborative effort between the board and administration so we can align on our concerns and work together to improve the district for our students. We are not yet ready to vote.”
Community pushes for transparency:
This comes after dozens of residents gathered last week to address the school board, expressing frustration over what they see as failures in leadership after two principals pleaded guilty to charges of failing to report child abuse at E.E. Lyon Elementary School in Covington.
The meeting began with the board adjusting its agenda to hear public comments from more than 20 people before voting to enter a closed session to discuss the investigation, the police department’s report, and the superintendent’s response to the situation.
As WDSU has previously reported, Tanya Barth and Lauryn Faciane, both former principals, pleaded guilty to charges of failing to report child abuse. Faciane pleaded guilty to two counts. Both were sentenced to probation in consultation with the victims’ families.
Outside the school board offices before the meeting began, Rebecca Bleker Hickman told WDSU why she decided to attend.
“Changes need to happen,” she said. “The same thing that I have been bringing up since 2007 and 2008, when my son was raped at Abney Elementary.”
Her son, Justin Bleker, also spoke to the board.
“I was the boy at Abney Elementary that was raped by a man janitor,” he said.
According to court records, the suspect in that case was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“My life was destroyed,” Bleker said. “My innocence was taken from the negligence of this board. Now, more administrators are being arrested for hiding the truth, and children are still being left unprotected.”
David Marek, another parent, addressed the board, alleging a cover-up after his family reported sexual harassment of his daughter to school leaders.
“This isn’t the first time that cover-up is happening, and you know what? This, hopefully, is the last time, because hopefully you’ll wake up,” Marek said.
Public comments lasted for more than an hour. Attendees overwhelmingly demanded changes to school board leadership and policies, with some calling for the removal of the current superintendent.
About the investigation:
This comes after WDSU obtained a court transcript through a public records request outlining a hearing where the two Northshore principals pleaded guilty to charges stemming from failure to report child abuse at Lyon Elementary.
Below is everything we know about the investigation.
Court transcript outlines principals’ sentencing hearing:
According to the court transcript, Judge Ellen Creel heard the facts of the case involving the principals, which were read in open court.
Creel was briefed on the two child abuse incidents Faciane was involved in, as well as the one instance Barth failed to report.
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Failure to report accusations outlined in police report:
The law requires school administrators to promptly report suspected abuse, neglect and other incidents involving children to authorities.
According to the police report, Faciane failed to report a case of physical abuse to a special needs child in 2024. In this instance, the parent had photographic documentation of the abuse and the person accused in the case pleaded guilty to charges that same year.
In two other instances, Barth and Faciane failed to report sexual abuse involving children.
According to the police report, one incident took place between a girl and a boy in December 2025 and was never reported. In this incident, it was never reported to law enforcement or DCFS, and police were told that an internal investigation was conducted. This was the incident Barth was charged in connection with.
WDSU Northshore Bureau Reporter Shantel Davis breaks down the court transcripts:
One of the children involved in that incident, a boy described as between the ages of 8 and 9, was also involved in the second incident that took place in April 2026.
In the April 28 incident, a boy reported that he was sexually abused by the other boy in the bathroom of the school, according to the police report.
The report said a counselor and Faciane were made aware of the abuse the day of the incident. The day after, the school resource officer was made aware.
When the school’s Mental Health Provider was informed, they told the staff the incident needed to be reported.
A detective later spoke with Faciane about the incident, and she told the detective that she and the counselor were aware of it and called the school district. Faciane told the detective that the district instructed her to contact the family of the boys, according to the police report.
The report states that only one of the parents was notified of the abuse. The second parent told police they found out about the abuse from their child.
The detective also spoke with the counselor, who confirmed she did not report the incident.
Due to the children’s ages, they cannot face charges in connection with the sexual abuse.
Court transcripts outline judge’s critical response to failure to report incidents:
The report also alleges other concerning incidents that happened at the school that were not reported by additional administrators. Those administrators were not charged in the case, according to the report.
Those incidents include a child leaving a classroom, a student possessing a knife in the cafeteria, a student possessing bullets, allegations of missing PTA funds, and another student striking a female student on the buttocks.
Judge reacts to text messages:
While Creel was briefed on these facts in court, she asked for clarifications on text messages between Faciane and other school administrators.
The court transcript read:
First Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Authement: They did know that this was being looked at, Judge. And I can just articulate some of these text messages for the record. So on Ms. Faciane’s phone, in communicating with other members of the administration, she received a text message that stated: “Yeah, everyone is spiraling about what this means for them. Basically, report everything, which is ridiculous. But if they want it to be this way, if they want to be this way about it, then okay.” And then another message received: “I’m sorry, not for what this means for them, but what this means for us. Like everyone in general. Frankie” — who this is a reference to Mr. Jabbia — “said so many times this could happen to anybody at any time.”
Judge Creel: This could happen to anybody at any time, was that concern for it could happen to any, this kind of thing could happen to any children at any time?
First Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Authement: No, that it could happen to anybody, like the administrators, teachers, individuals who are failing to report that children are having or engaging in sexual conduct in the bathroom
Another text message read:
“He wants to protect us at all costs, but what do you do when they come to you with that? … He knows we work our a—– off, and this is an area child on child that we are not necessarily reporting.”
Authement said this was acknowledgement within the schools that child-on-child abuse was not being reported as mandated by the statute, according to the court transcript.
Roy Burns, the defense attorney who represented Barth and Faciane, told Creel that there was enough evidence against the principals to warrant the misdemeanor guilty pleas.
Creel voiced strong disappointment in the charge, but agreed to follow the law as well as the victim’s family’s wishes when she gave them their sentences.
Creel then referenced the statute the principals violated, and read it to them out loud.
“There seems to be no concern at all for children here from what I’m hearing. So I’m going to read it to you, because God knows somebody needs to,” Creel said. “It’s only a misdemeanor, which is remarkable to me. It says: Any person who pursuant to Children’s Code Article 609 (A) is required to report the abuse or neglect of a child. And I guarantee you, a principal and an assistant principal, are on that list. The buck stops with you people.”
Creel continued to stress her disappointment in Barth and Faciane, going as far as calling their actions disgusting, and ordering them to be removed from her court.
“I am a child of a teacher. This is, I can’t even explain to you how offensive this is to me. That is an honorable profession, or it was, and it still is to the vast majority of the ones that are in the trenches. You have dishonored the profession, and you have let children down and this community. It’s egregious behavior. Let me tell you why it’s egregious. The selfishness in the text messages. There was zero concern exhibited for children, zero. What this means for us. This could happen to anybody like me at any time. Zero concern for the children. Only concern for yourself. That is it. It’s disgusting,” Creel said, according to the court transcript.
Creel referenced Barth and Faciane’s mandatory reporting training, and called their disregard of that training “egregious behavior.”
“The blame shifting that went on, trying to throw somebody else under the bus. Did you try to throw your School Resources Officer under the bus? Is that what you did by knowing what happened, and not telling them what happened, and then just telling them watch the video, when you know a video can’t see inside a bathroom stall? Unbelievable,” Creel said, according to the court transcripts.
Creel accepted their pleas, giving both two years of probation and a $500 fine, stating she only agreed because of the extent of what the law allowed and the victim’s family’s wishes.
“It appears to be systemic if this is going on, and it’s disgusting. The attitude that you all displayed in the text messages calling this ridiculous shows absolutely no concern and no remorse. Absolutely egregious. I’m done. And you need to get them out of my courtroom,” Creel said, according to the court transcript.
WDSU seeks comment from Jabbia, district attorney, Louisiana Department of Education:
WDSU reached out to Superintendent Frank Jabbia regarding the court transcripts and did not receive a response.
WDSU also reached out to District Attorney Colin Sims and the Louisiana Department of Education asking whether separate investigations would be launched into concerns of a systemic problem regarding child abuse reports within the St. Tammany Parish Public School District.
Sims office declined to comment, and WDSU has not received a response from the Louisiana Department of Education at this time.
Sources tell WDSU that the administrators are no longer employed with the district.
Recorded call sent to parents:
Prior to the court transcripts being made public, a recorded call was sent to St. Tammany Parish families and administrators from what appeared to be Jabbia.
The recorded call referenced the incident at Lyon Elementary and stressed to parents that new policies were implemented, as well as stronger documentation before the school year began. The call also referenced that the district takes children’s safety seriously.
WDSU reached out to the school district to authenticate the message. WDSU also asked for clarification on the safeguards put in place, trainings and tools made available to teachers and administrators, as well as clarity on the changes that the district made following the incident.
A response was never received.
VIDEO: Superintendent Frank Jabbia speaks on new leadership at Lyon Elementary:
The St. Tammany Federation of Teachers President Brant Osburn issued a statement in response to the recorded call, as well as a copy of the transcript of the call.
That statement read:
“Earlier today, parents and employees received a recorded message from Superintendent Frank Jabbia concerning what he described as ‘a serious situation that occurred at one of our elementary schools last year involving mandatory reporting requirements.’
“We agree that student safety must be the district’s highest priority. That commitment, however, must be demonstrated through transparent policies, consistent enforcement, and accountability at every level, including Central Office.
“The superintendent stated that ‘additional safeguards’ have been implemented. Parents, employees, and the Board deserve clear information about:
• What specifically changed, and when?
• What written reporting procedures were distributed?
• Were employees clearly instructed about when to contact DCFS and when to contact law enforcement?
• Were these changes reviewed with the Board and the agencies now described as district partners?
• Have these safeguards resulted in a substantial increase in reports? If so, how many reports were made, to which agencies, how many were accepted for investigation, and how does that compare with prior years?
• Do these safeguards include clear protections against retaliation for employees who report concerns or cooperate with investigators?
“The Federation unequivocally supports immediate reporting whenever there is reasonable cause to suspect abuse or neglect. Employees must also receive accurate, specific guidance rather than vague directives that may create confusion or be driven by fear.
“The response to the documented reporting failures cannot be confusion, indiscriminate reporting, or shifting responsibility downward.
“A sound system must protect children, preserve outside agencies’ ability to respond effectively, and give employees clear procedures they can follow confidently.
“Reassurance matters. Clarity is better. Verification matters most. #STPSB #ShapingOurFuture #TrustButVerify“
Transcript of call:
“Hello, this is St. Tammany Parish Superintendent Frank Jabbia. First, I want to thank everyone for a wonderful start this school year, and I appreciate the cooperation and hard work of all of our employees, students, and families that have gotten us off to such a great start this school year. I also want to address a serious situation that occurred at one of our elementary schools last year involving mandatory reporting requirements. Since that time, our school system has put additional safeguards in place to strengthen our reporting and documenting procedures and to help ensure administrators and employees have the tools and resources they need when concerns arise. We are also working closely with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, the District Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners to ensure our employees have the guidance, training, and support they need to respond appropriately to any situation involving student safety. The safety and well-being of our students is our number one priority, and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect the children who are entrusted to our care and to make sure that our employees understand their responsibilities when it comes to reporting. At the same time, we want our schools to remain the caring and supportive places our students need them to be. Protecting our students and creating a positive environment go hand in hand, and we want every child to come to school knowing they are safe, supported, and valued. Thank you all for your continued support of our students, our employees, our schools, and the St. Tammany Parish Public School System. Thank you.”
READ MORE:Steve Alfonso, St. Tammany school leaders meet with law enforcement to discuss mandatory reporting
