By John Hopkins<br><a href="mailto:john.hopkins@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail John</a>
Business in the City of Tonawanda School District carried on Tuesday night, but conspicuously absent from the Board of Education’s meeting was Elizabeth Olka, who was arrested last week for harassment.
At the direction of the district’s attorney, board members said little about Olka’s arrest Friday by City of Tonawanda police on misdemeanor charges of second-degree aggravated harassment and fourth-degree stalking.
Further complicating matters, the woman Olka is charged with harassing is the daughter of school board Vice President Jim Weber.
Reading from a prepared statement, school board President Lynn Casal said district officials will not comment on the matter until the court case and an internal district investigation are complete.
“The district has begun its own investigation into the matter, along with other allegations,” Casal said. “Pending the results the board will not comment. We can assure the public our only concern is the safety and education of the district’s children.”
The 23-year-old victim alleges Olka wrote dozens of unwanted messages and e-mails to her social networking accounts on MySpace and Facebook and to her college e-mail account.
Tuesday afternoon prior to the board meeting, Jim Weber came to police with further evidence of Olka’s Facebook activity relating to the case, including one item that was posted the day after her arrest. According to Detective Tim Toth, the posts were written by Olka on her own page and not directed specifically at Weber’s daughter, but addressed the situation. The posts will not result in any further charges, but have been included in Olka’s court file for consideration by the judge.
Contacted by the News on Friday after she turned herself into police, Olka declined comment on the advice of her attorney.
Two City of Tonawanda police officers were on hand for the meeting after Superintendent Whitney Vantine asked Tonawanda Police Chief Cindy Young to provide a uniformed presence in the event the meeting got out of hand.
“If there (were) angry parents we were there to protect the health safety and welfare of everyone there,” Toth said.
No such public outrage was expressed, however. Just one resident addressed the board about Olka’s arrest. Kate Scarpina said she wanted Olka to refrain from conduct that would distract board members from doing their jobs.
“I’m asking her to resign,” Scarpina added. “As a parent and community member of Tonawanda, I’m concerned. I’ve seen a lot of positive change in the community, and this is a major setback.”
As for Olka’s whereabouts Tuesday, Vantine said she requested to be excused from the meeting, and Casal said Olka “did not specify” when she would return to the board.
Casal referred all other questions to Chris Trapp, the district’s attorney.
“The district is investigating the matter and as soon as the investigation is completed I’m sure we’ll have a report on the affect, if any, on the district,” Trapp said. “We hope this concludes very quickly because it obviously affects the community and the children.”
Trapp said another attorney employed by the district is conducting the investigation. He did not offer a timeline for its completion.
District officials noted that the allegations do not directly involve the district.
As far as the actual charges, Toth, the detective assigned to the case, said he is still unsure of the precise nature of the relationship between Olka and the younger Weber.
The detective said he is still mystified at what caused the original disturbance.
“They were coworkers as far as I know and that's all I know,” Toth said. “I have no idea what the hang up is here.”
Jim Weber said after the meeting he has not spoken to Olka since her arrest, nor does he plan to.
“Our focus now is trying to maintain school board business,” Weber told the News.
The meeting was conducted in less than an hour. Near the end of the meeting, board members mostly kept their comments to congratulating the girls modified basketball team for their undefeated season. None addressed Olka’s situation.
Managing Editor Eric DuVall contributed to this report.
Contact night city editor John Hopkins at 693-1000, ext. 150.
