By Holly M. PullanoArticle Launched:10/13/2006 01:17:03 PM EDT
The Fairfield school district is taking action to change a bus stop that was located in close proximity to the home of a registered sex offender, but a concerned parent feels that the district did not react quickly enough to resolve what he feels is a grave safety concern.
According to Glenn Campbell, the parent of a Fairfield Woods Middle School student, when he "stumbled upon the information" that a sex offender lived across the street from a bus stop at Campfield Drive and Knapps Park Drive, he immediately contacted school authorities to make them aware of the situation.
But on Wednesday, Campbell said the reaction from the school district was not as swift as he had thought and hoped it would be. "My kids and I took bets, we put it at three days because of the severity of the situation," Campbell said. "Two weeks went by and nothing happened."
Campbell explained that he had discovered the information unintentionally while researching a home he had planned to rent on Campfield Drive, which he later learned was located next door to Nicholas Kiriakopoulos, 58, a registered sex offender.
"I have two school-age children, so one of the first criteria I look at is whether any sex offenders live in the neighborhood," Campbell said, explaining that he uses the Web site www.mapsexoffenders.com, to aid in his research.
Campbell said he quickly put two and two together when he realized that each morning as he drove his daughter to school, he had observed a group of middle school-age girls waiting for the bus across the street from Kiriakopoulos' house.
"It really concerned me a lot, and the sheer magnitude [of the situation] led me to believe it was definitely in the best interest to call someone," Campbell said. "If someone else had made that realization, I would want them to do the same thing, to step up and make that phone call."
Campbell said that after making the school district aware of the situation, he was hopeful that they would take immediate action, such as stationing a police officer or a parent at the bus stop until the situation could be resolved. "To be honest, I was very concerned that nothing happened right away," he said.
On Wednesday, John Ficke, the school district's transportation supervisor, said Campbell's concern was forwarded to him from Deputy Superintendent Jack Boyle. Ficke explained that the reason for the two-week time lapse was to allow a fair amount of time to "research the situation" before taking further action. "There was really no information other than that a sex offender lived across the street from the bus stop," Ficke said Wednesday. "We had to research it and figure out what to do."
Ficke explained that the situation involved more than 20 students in the surrounding area and that his department immediately began to look at ways in which it could change the bus stop to accommodate all students affected. Another problem, Ficke said, was that one of the students involved in the bus route lives directly next door to Kiriakopoulos.
To resolve the issue, Ficke explained that the "bad stop" will be eliminated, and three new stops will be added to the current bus route, which will include stops at both ends of the street. Ficke added that the bus would be rerouted in order to "draw students around the house," so they would no longer have to walk by Kiriakopoulos' home.
Yesterday, Glenn Mackno, principal of Roger Ludlowe Middle School, added that the school was in the process of notifying parents that the new routes and stops would be in place, effective Monday. "This is certainly a concern, and it's already been resolved," Mackno said. "Our children's safety is always paramount, and we immediately took action to protect the safety of our students."
Ficke said that prior to receiving Campbell's complaint, he had not received any concerns from parents on the matter. However, Ficke said it is not uncommon for his department to receive complaints in regard to bus stops being located near the homes of sex offenders. "We get calls on this every year, and this particular incident is not the first one this year," he said.
When asked whether the school district plans bus routes in order to prevent stops from being located in close proximity to a sex offender, Ficke replied, "We don't get notification of where these people live. We have roughly 8,000 bus stops, so we do rely on parents to help, and we then deal with the issue as quickly as we can."
According to Mackno, he has made the recommendation to the school district that if checking bus routes against the homes of known sex offenders is not already the first step in the process of scheduling bus routes, it should be revised so that it is in the future.
In response to Mackno's recommendation, Superintendent of Schools Ann Clark said yesterday that she "would rather not go into any specific detail" on the matter due to her concern for the safety of students.
Meanwhile, when asked why he had decided to step into a situation that did not directly affect him, Campbell replied, "I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen. From what I've seen on the news, these people [sex offenders] have issues that never seem to be resolved."
Campbell also pointed out that while he understood that Kiriakopoulos "has rights too," he felt that "sometimes things take precedence," especially when the issue concerns the safety of children.
The state Department of Public Safety's Web site www.ct.gov/dps/, allows the public to search the state's Sex Offender Registry by last name, ZIP code and town.
According to the Web site, Connecticut General Statutes 54-250 through 54-261 mandate that the Department of Public Safety establish and maintain a central registry of persons who have been convicted of certain sexual offenses and are required to register under the general statutes.
At press time, the state registry listed 11 sex offenders living in Fairfield. Kiriakopoulos is one of the 11. The crimes that require Kiriakopoulos to be listed in the registry include sexual assault in the fourth degree and illegal sexual contact. Kiriakopoulos was convicted of both crimes in April 2003, according to the registry.
The remaining sex offenders living in Fairfield, according to the registry, live on Prince Street, Old Black Rock Turnpike, Beaconview Drive, Rutland and Berwick Avenues, and Old Stratfield, Meadow Brook, Wormwood and Davis Roads.
