Dear Editor:

I was surprised to see the Wiscasset School Committee reject an outside investigation into the “gym incident.” The most basic expectation is that children should be safe in school. When that expectation is not met, the system failed. Dismissing an independent and thorough review of how it happened is a lost chance of preventing it from happening again.

In more than 30 years in the nuclear industry, I participated in scores of root cause investigations. We treated even low-level events seriously because fixing small problems is the most effective way to keep larger ones from occurring. A proper root cause analysis is a disciplined, evidence-based process. It examines every barrier that should have prevented the failure — leadership decisions, organizational culture, missed warning signs, the effectiveness of earlier corrective actions, written policies, training, and procedures. Interviews and documentation are central. The goal is never to assign personal blame but to understand how multiple factors aligned to allow the event. Every significant incident has more than one cause. Treating it as an isolated act by one or two people almost always leaves the deeper weaknesses untouched. Conclusions must be supported by facts, not assumptions or institutional defensiveness.

An outside investigation brings independence and fresh perspective that internal reviews often lack. It signals to the community that student safety is a priority worth examining rigorously rather than moving past quickly. The alternative — declaring the matter closed without that scrutiny — leaves the same gaps in place.

Children deserve better than “nothing to see here.” A proper root cause evaluation is the minimum standard for turning a failure into lasting protection. The School Committee should reconsider its decision.

Joe Grant

Wiscasset