OBSERVER Photo by Anthony Dolce Parents and residents fill Sky’s the Limit in the village on Thursday.

SILVER CREEK — Stemming from allegations regarding an “isolation cell” made against the Silver Creek Central Schools earlier this week, a large group of parents and residents of the district gathered at Sky’s the Limit on Main Street in the village to discuss what steps to take next.

The allegations come from Jay Hall, assistant director of elementary programming, who wrote a letter to the Board of Education on Tuesday describing an “isolation cell” in the elementary school. Hall has since been put on administrative leave. He was in attendance at Thursday night’s community meeting, but was not speaking.

“There will come a time when Jay is going to speak out for everyone. He’s going to speak out loud, he’s going to speak out clearly, and he’s going to tell the truth,” said Hall’s attorney, Thomas Eoannou. “But tonight is not that night. Tonight is not Jay’s night. He will not be saying a word.”

Instead, it was the parents’ time to speak. Kristina Kwaizer, Amanda Bailey, and Tiffany Farley each said their child has been placed in the alleged “isolation room” and each of them shared their side of the story in front of the gathered crowd. Kwaizer alleged that her child was not let out of this room to even eat.

“My son is terrified to go to school. … This should not be happening,” Kwaizer said. “Being barricaded and not let out to have lunch. They need to get a better behavioral plan for the teachers, not just the children.”

While there was a lot of animosity directed toward the school on Thursday night, one overwhelming sentiment is that of support for Hall. One parent dropped off a letter from her student to Hall, and Farley expressed her gratitude to Hall, which was met with a round of applause. Though Hall was not speaking Thursday night, his emotions were still displayed.

“My son is 5 years old, and he’s been in school since he was 3,” Farley said. “Recently, he has been putting up a fight not to go to school, and I hadn’t figured it out. I feel horrible that I couldn’t figure out what was going on. He doesn’t even want to leave the house anymore. … It breaks my heart that our kids had to go through this. I’m thankful to Mr. Hall for everything he’s done for our children.”

The individuals in attendance said they had trouble finding a lawyer to take their case for them, but by the end of the meeting, Eoannou, separate from representing Hall, said that he would begin work on his own private investigation.

“I’m not speaking on his behalf, and he hasn’t asked me to,” Eaonnou said. “I’ll pay for the investigator. You bring your kids down, and we’ll get every single kid who has been stuck in that room. … I’m not doing this having anything to do with Mr. Hall. But hearing what has been said, I want to do my part.”

Hall would not comment when reached by phone before the evening meeting.

In the meantime, an online petition noting the elementary school “children are in danger in a place where they are supposed to feel safe and secure and we must take action before any more children are subjected to this abuse” has begun. By Friday afternoon, there were 356 signatures.

On Wednesday, the district has began its own investigation into this matter, which Superintendent Todd Crandall said should be completed within the next few days. Crandall said that the safety of students is paramount. “We are committed to being transparent, thorough, and always put students’ wellbeing first and foremost,” he said.

Overall, there remains a hush from the district regarding the issue, including from the elementary staff that was briefed on the issue last week.

In early March, the district announced the reappointment of Delia Bonenberger as interim elementary principal. Past Principal Sterling Stearns was noted as “unavailable and not in the district until further notice.”

According to Board of Education minutes posted online, the district went into executive session during its March 10 meeting for the “purpose of discussing the employment of a particular person” at 6 p.m. Public session resumed at 7:37 p.m. Stearns’ departure was announced March 11.