SPRINGFIELD – Three members of the School Committee have asked for a meeting with Superintendent Daniel Warwick over allegations made against a former school employee and why School Committee members were not kept informed about the incident.

Springfield Central High School girls’ softball coach Alberto Hernandez Jr. is no longer working at the school. No reason has yet been cited publicly.

School Committee member Denise Hurst told Reminder Publishing there has not been a public response to the incident after she, Barbara Gresham and LaTonia Monroe Naylor issued a press release calling for greater transparency and communication.

All Hurst has heard is “an investigation is underway and the district is following all necessary protocols.”

Hurst noted what while she understands the privacy demands for personnel issues, “the full committee bears the responsibility to be the governing body … policies and procedures are within the scope.”

In her written statement, Hurst said, “We have an obligation to respond to our constituents and if we don’t know what is happening, we cannot respond accordingly, which means parents, students and staff are left in the dark. This is not the first time, but hopefully it will be the last.  This incident occurred over one month ago, and the questions that need to be answered are, who knew, what actions were taken and why is this just being brought to light.”

Naylor said that after the press release, she reached out to Warwick, but a request for a meeting has not been granted.

She noted she was surprised as Warwick usually responds to such requests.

In the press release, she wrote, “We have a fiduciary responsibility as members of the School Committee. We must have greater transparency to fulfill the tasks we were elected to carry out and prevent as much as possible these types of violations from occurring again.”

“The safety of our students is paramount. It is the priority of the Springfield School Committee members to make certain that the children entrusted to us on a daily basis are safe,” wrote Gresham in the release.