2 Abuse Claims Filed Against Moraga District

Update, Nov. 2. Comment from school district in Cunnane case.

Two new claims against the Moraga School District accuse administrators of failing to follow up on abuse allegations made in the 1990s.

The two claims for $15 million each alleged the district and its administrators allowed molestations to take place because of flawed investigations at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, according to a story in the Contra Costa Times.

The claims allege abuse by former Joaquin Moraga teacher Daniel Witters, who committed suicide in 1996 shortly after the original allegations were made, the Times reported. The two "Jane Does" making the claims read about another abuse allegation made against Witters in the 1990s in an investigation earlier this year by the newspaper.

The district is also defending itself against a lawsuit filed in September by Kristen Cunnane a former JM student claiming abuse by Witters and another teacher at the school in the 1990s. In an October legal filing, the district stated "Carelessness and negligence on (Cunnane's) part proximately contributed to the happenings of the incident and to the injuries, loss and damages," according to the Contra Costa Times.

The district in June established a Board Committee for Student Safety to review "policies, practices and training regarding child abuse and mandated reporting."

Moraga School District Superintendent Bruce Burns declined to comment on the new claims.