RONDOUT VALLEY – The case against Jason Gambino, a Rondout Valley high school student accused of harassing a younger student on a school bus because of the other boy's sexual orientation, will be tried by a special prosecutor, according to the Ulster County District Attorney's office.

Kingston attorney Eric Schneider was appointed as special prosecutor in the case because an attorney who recently joined the DA's office had lately worked for the firm which is representing Gambino. Schneider said that this is fairly standard practice to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

"These are serious allegations, and I plan on performing a thorough investigation into the facts of this case," Schneider said. "In my prosecutorial role, I'm here to serve the public."

Gambino was charged on January 6 with harassment and stalking in connection with the allegations. While felonies, such as stalking, are usually moved to the state's Supreme Court, Schneider said that this case is still before Justice Shaheen in the Rochester Town Court.

The district attorney's office did not return repeated calls about another bus-related incident in which a male student was arrested this winter for exposing himself at least three times over a period of time. The accused in that case is a minor, unlike Gambino, and his name has not been released.

School officials have been concerned about behavior on the buses before these two incidents occurred, as the district's reconfiguration plans call for children in grades four through twelve to start sharing bus rides to the main campus. Patricia Robbins, who will head up the new upper elementary school for grades 4-6, has made rooting out bullying a priority.

The district is also rolling out a program called "Peaceful School Buses," which is "a whole-school program that's designed to decrease inappropriate behavior on buses while creating a climate of respect and cooperation," according to the program's web site. This is accomplished through pairing younger and older students, team-building exercises which include the bus driver, and open communication about bullying.

On a related note, a second forum in the series "Assisting Our At-Risk Students" was held last week in the Rondout Valley high school library. The two dozen attendees included parents, school personnel, the Rosendale police chief, and counselors specializing in youth drug use and risky behavior. Participants discussed the reasons why children engage in risky behaviors, including access to drugs and the tacit or explicit permission of parents, and talked about specific strategies which could be used to reduce those risks.