Apr 2, 2026 By Garrett Neese 3 min read

The Laurel Highlands school board voted 9-0 Wednesday to hire outside legal counsel to conduct an independent review of the district’s policies and procedures after two teachers were charged with sexual misconduct against students.

Pittsburgh-based MDM Law was chosen in part because it has no prior connection to the district, said board President Marcus DiNunno.

“We are committed to getting answers — what was known, when it was done, whether the proper actions were taken,” he said. “At the same time, we are strengthening all these policies, reporting systems and preventative measures to protect our students.”

Daniel Cervone, an Air Force Junior Officer Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor, was arrested in March after a former student told police the two of them had frequently met in his office over a period of several months, and once had sex at the school.

His charges followed the arrest of high school social studies teacher Martin Gatti, 50, a week earlier. He is accused of calling a female student into his classroom, then repeatedly pressuring her to kiss him. He was arrested earlier this month.

At a special meeting called on the day of Cervone’s arrest, the board voted to fire Gatti and place Cervone on administrative leave.

Wednesday’s meeting, moved to the high school auditorium, drew a crowd of about 70, including parents and alumni of the district. Some accused district officials of turning a blind eye to past actions by teachers.

Resident Scott Carlson read from a copy of Superintendent Jesse Wallace’s contract, criticizing his pay relative to the district’s test scores and area economy. He also castigated board members for the contract, which he said made it too difficult for the board to terminate him.

“It tied your hands, it bound your feet and gagged your protest,” he said. “It’s really not what you did, it’s what you did to the parents, the students and the teachers who teach with integrity, that’s what you did to the people.”

After reaching his three-minute time limit, he continued on as three other people in the crowd came up to yield their time.

District Attorney Mike Aubele, who has several children in the district, called the board’s vote to conduct an outside review “a good first step.”

He said he would like to see the review look at whether the district complied with mandatory reporting laws, as well as whether the culture at the school had encouraged people to either not report or to go to other sources.

Since the first arrest, Aubele’s office has been getting reports about other teachers and administrators, spanning Laurel Highlands and other districts in the county.

“There are some reports that are going to be unfounded, and anytime that we have delayed reporting, reports from years ago, it’s difficult at times to make a case, and sometimes we can’t file charges on that,” Aubele said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t want the reports. We encourage people to come forward. A lot of victims that have been holding things in for a long time see the progress that we’re making now and feel encouraged to come forward and report, and that’s what we want.”