Gloucester Officials Dispute Teen Pregnancy Pact

By Jessica Fargen, Boston Herald

Jun. 23–A second Gloucester school official is now poking holes in a bombshell claim made by the town’s high school principal that half of the 17 pregnant teens at Gloucester High made a pact have babies together.

School Committee Chairman Greg Verga told the Herald this morning that Principal Joseph Sullivan is the only person who has made the claims that half the expectant teens at Gloucester High planned to get pregnant. The scandal was first reported last week in Time magazine and has cast a national spotlight on the North Shore fishing town.

“I’m calling into question the whole pact thing,” said Verga, who will attend a meeting this morning with Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk and other city officials to discuss how to deal with the serious teen mama drama at the high school.

“I have reason to believe that no one has come forward other than the principal who is saying he heard someone say it. The more logical occurrence is that two or more girls got pregnant and decided to have a pact to stick together from that point on,” he said.

In the previous school year there were four teen pregnancies at the high school.

Kirk told the Associated Press this weekend that school counselors, teachers and families have not come up with information to back Sullivan’s comments. Kirk said Sullivan has told city officials that he can’t remember his source of information. Kirk could not be reached this morning.

Sullivan told Time that nearly half the 17 expecting teens — all under 16 when they became pregnant — seemed excited when they received a positive pregnancy test at the school clinic. Some even high-fived each other, he told the magazine. Sullivan has been on vacation since last week and has not been available for comment.

He is still on vacation and will not attend today’s meeting, according to his office.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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