Stonington — The Board of Education on Thursday night will listen to comments from residents about whether it should launch an independent investigation into how school officials handled the numerous complaints they received that former high school teacher and coach Timothy Chokas inappropriately touched girls dating back to at least 2013.

The board, which meets at 7 p.m. at the former Pawcatuck Middle School, has listed the public comment period on its agenda for the meeting. Following that, the board is scheduled to discuss the procedure involved in such an investigation and the process of hiring an investigator.

Since last June, when The Day published the first of a series of stories about the allegations against Chokas and how they were handled, the majority of school board members have opposed an investigation, saying they wanted to wait until state Child Advocate Sarah Eagan completes her review of the school system’s policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment. Eagan said Tuesday she hopes to have her report done by March. However, that review is not expected to include interviews with the numerous students who say Chokas made inappropriate comments and touched them inappropriately, nor teachers, parents or coaches.

Board members Jack Morehouse and Heidi Simmons have joined member Alisa Morrison, who first called for an investigation last summer. Board Chairwoman Alexa Garvey and board members Craig Esposito, Candace Anderson and Farouk Rajab have blocked an investigation.

But last week Garvey announced that, if it accomplishes certain goals, she would support an independent investigation. Garvey’s announcement came less than a week after Alexandra Kapell, president of the high school Student Council and the student representative to the school board, called for an independent investigation, saying “there’s a lot to be uncovered.”

"I have let my other board members know that if pursuing a second independent investigation by an alternate law firm will demonstrate support for our students, provide answers to questions that may not be available through the forthcoming (Office of the Child Advocate) report, and help to resolve the growing divide in the community, then I am in support of a second independent investigation,” Garvey said last week.

“My hope is that between the additional information gleaned through a fact finding investigation and the report from Attorney Eagan (Office of Child Advocate) we can find closure to the issues that have cast a shadow over this district since June and move forward accordingly to address the continuously pressing needs of the schools. A second independent investigation must uphold the standards of conduct appropriate to schools/minors in protecting confidentiality,” she added.

With current and former female students who have spoken to or contacted The Day and those who have posted comments about their interactions with Chokas dating back to 2004, there are well over 100 young women to be possibly interviewed, along with school administrators, teachers, coaches, staff members and parents.

In an email to board members last week, Garvey wrote that school board attorney Nick Grello, whose firm has fought The Day’s efforts under state Freedom of Information law to obtain complaints and disciplinary action against Chokas, had put her in contact with attorney Matthew Curtin to discuss conducting the investigation. The school board has not yet made a decision to hire Curtin and Garvey told The Day her initial phone call to Curtin was to understand the process.

Garvey wrote that Curtin would charge the school board $455 an hour, with the cost of the investigation projected to be between $20,000 and $40,000.

Garvey told school board members the length of the investigation could be a month and a half or longer but would “vary with our scope but more dependent upon who will agree to participate in an interview.” She said Curtin could begin his work at the end of this month or in February.

On Monday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m., also at the former Pawcatuck Middle School, the school board will hold a public workshop to begin discussing issues such as how to improve the complaint reporting process and the interview process for those filing a complaint, how to make students making complaints feel comfortable, how to better involve parents in the complaint process and forming community partnerships to address the issue of sexual harassment.

The complaints against Chokas, who also served as the girls’ assistant golf and soccer coach, include that he allegedly placed his legs on girls’ laps, touched their backs and thighs, stroked their hair, massaged their shoulders, pushed up against them, tickled them, and struck one girl in the buttocks with a cane he was using. They also allege he asked girls about their boyfriends and invited them to have breakfast with him in his classroom. The alleged touching took place in his classroom, an adjacent photo darkroom and at golf and soccer practice sessions. Those who have spoken to The Day say the touching was pervasive and occurred daily.

After a January 2019 incident in which a female student reported that Chokas was touching a female classmate and making inappropriate comments, Chokas was allowed to resign with his full salary of $81,396 and benefits through the end of the school year.

The school system also agreed not to fire Chokas or disclose any information concerning his employment to anyone, except as required by law.

Friese and Riley have testified under oath they did not consider various reports about inappropriate touching and comments lodged against Chokas by students, referred to in various school documents and emails in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and from the girls themselves, as complaints. Instead, they considered them “reports,” “interactions with people” and “concerns” expressed by students and others. Their categorizations meant that these complaints were not placed in Chokas’ personnel file and not released to The Day when the newspaper requested them last year. A review by The Day shows school officials failed to follow the district's own sexual harassment policies.

j.wojtas@theday.com