School probe into e-mails launched

An Arlington middle school principal and a teacher who recently clashed with the school superintendent are now under investigation over alleged sexually inappropriate e-mails they exchanged while at work.

Superintendent of Schools Nate Levenson said he initiated the probe late last month after he was given a package of e-mails containing "potentially inappropriate behavior and other violations of school policy." He would not say who provided him with the e-mails or go into detail about their contents, saying the information was part of the ongoing investigation.

But Frank Mondano, the attorney who represents both the principal, Stavroula Bouris, and technology teacher Chuck Coughlin, said the probe was initiated and leaked to the public in retaliation against Bouris and Coughlin for their criticism of Levenson's leadership. Coughlin also had recently filed a grievance against the superintendent over a change to his job duties.

"It is the basest form of gratuitous abuse," Mondano said of the probe, adding that his clients are now "worried about their employment status, future employment status, professional reputation, how this may impact their families. . . . It impacts them across the board."

Mondano said his clients are not romantically involved, but are friendly with each other and were only sharing jokes and humorous musings. He said their correspondences were obtained by someone hacking into their private e-mail accounts, and called for the hacker to be exposed.

Levenson and Bouris have clashed before. In March, Levenson announced he would not renew the popular Ottoson Middle School principal's contract, saying she is no longer "a good fit for the district." After hundreds of parents, teachers, and staff protested at a School Committee meeting later that month, Levenson reconsidered and the School Committee offered Bouris a two-year contract extension, contingent upon a set of goals being met.

Levenson denied the investigation is retaliatory, saying he removed himself from overseeing it. The School Department's legal counsel, Alan Miller of Stoneman, Chandler & Miller of Boston, is in charge of the oversight and has prepared a report about the issue, Levenson said.

"The e-mails brought to me contained information of potentially inappropriate behavior and other violations of school policy," said Levenson. "When I saw who was involved with the e-mails, I immediately recused myself and turned the matter over to the school attorney. I did not want to play a part in any investigation."

Levenson declined to release the report immediately without a Freedom of Information Act request. In addition to reviewing whether any improprieties occurred between Coughlin and Bouris, he said, his office will also carry out "a strict investigation into how the e-mails were obtained."

Mondano said the e-mails were sent between Coughlin and Bouris on personal, not school, e-mail accounts, although some of the messaging occurred in school and at home. Hacking into personal e-mail accounts is a felony, he said.

"There is no question what is at work here is trying to embarrass people on a personal level," said Mondano. "One man's meat is another man's poison, and what I mean by that is that one man's humor is another man's grossly inappropriate e-mail."

Coughlin was one of the dozens of faculty members who declared support for Bouris this spring. In a previous interview with the Globe, he questioned Levenson's qualifications and the superintendent's resume that was submitted to the School Committee before he was hired. Coughlin, backed by a former School Committee member in Harvard, Willie Wickman, contended that Levenson never officially held the role of assistant superintendent in Harvard as he stated in his resume.

Levenson says he did perform the work of an assistant superintendent.

Early this week, after several months of calm in the School Department, a local blogger, Bob Sprague, posted on his website, yourarlington.com, that an investigation was underway regarding the relationship between Bouris and Coughlin. Levenson denied that he spoke to Sprague about the probe.

School Committee member Denise Burns said that she was extremely concerned about the most recent events and how it might further harm the department.

"I will say that the School Committee, at no time, authorized any kind of investigation," said Burns. If Miller "is the School Committee's attorney and acting on behalf of the School Committee, shouldn't we be made aware of the matter?"

Miller confirmed that he is conducting an investigation, and that the local blog quoted directly from an internal memo he wrote to Levenson about his report. According to the blog, Miller wrote, "I have no way of being certain if there was or is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between the two, though the correspondence certainly suggests that one existed. . . . Mr. Coughlin's conduct violated the acceptable use policy and further was grossly inappropriate."

Miller said he found it "extremely distressing" that the blogger had obtained his memo before his investigation was complete. He said he has never spoken to Sprague about the probe and has not completed it because Bouris has been out of the country.

Coughlin, reached by phone, said he could not comment on the matter at this time. Bouris could not be reached for comment.

Melissa Beecher can be reached at mbeecher@globe.com.