April 7, 2021

 

Dear Branson Community,

 

We write to share some difficult news with you.

 

Today we received a lawsuit that was filed in the Superior Court for Marin County against our school by an alumna regarding sexual misconduct by former employee Rusty Taylor who worked as a soccer coach in the 1970s. The complaint against Branson alleges the school was negligent by failing to take steps to protect her from harm by Taylor while she was a student. 

 

It is our school policy to not publicly discuss the specifics about lawsuits as we respect the integrity of the legal process as well as the privacy of any former student. What we can share is that we will handle this legal matter with consideration and respect for this alumna. Branson acknowledges the tremendous bravery it takes to report abuse and, again, deeply apologizes for the pain that this alumna and any Branson student suffered because of faculty-on-student sexual misconduct.

 

As many in our community may recall, in May 2018, Branson's Board of Trustees retained Nancy Kestenbaum and Clara Shin, attorneys from Covington & Burling LLP, to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into historical sexual misconduct allegations following reports of sexual abuse from a number of alumni from the 1970s. Branson was committed to conducting an investigation that was transparent and honest. We also sought to honor the survivors in a process that was respectful and acknowledged the abuse and trauma they experienced as students at Branson.

 

The full investigation report including allegations against Rusty Taylor was made available to our community on April 5, 2019, in a message linked here.  At that time, we outlined the steps our school was taking to improve and enhance our student protection policies and procedures, as well as pledging our care for alumni who are survivors of abuse while students at Branson. That offer of support for survivors remains open, and any alumni who are in need of counseling resources are respectfully encouraged to contact Bernie Fitzgerald, our Survivor Fund Manager, who is not a Branson employee and lives on the East Coast. He can be reached at berniejfitzgerald@gmail.com.

 

The values that informed our original investigation continue to guide us through this stage of the process. We remain grateful for the courage of the graduates who made the difficult decision to participate in the investigation and strengthened our school in the process.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Christina K. Mazzola, Head of School

Claudia Lewis, Board Chair

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