RHODE ISLAND – The Providence Public School District announced that Stefani Harvey, assistant principal at Mount Pleasant High School, has been put on paid administrative leave while an email she sent to teachers is being investigated.

The email, reported by WJAR, and sent Thursday night, asked colleagues to contribute to pay a human trafficker who brought a student into the country illegally.

The head of the Providence Teachers Union stated that the organization is not aware of the student but said that more information needs to be uncovered.

PTU President Maribeth Calabro considers the email to be inappropriate and expressed concern for the student.

“Soliciting money for help is not necessarily a foreign thing in this context. It, you know, raises eyebrows,” said Calabro, per WJAR. “Dr. Harvey is relatively new, so I don’t know what her understanding is. I would hope that being hired to a position as a leadership position, you would understand that there are things that you can do and there are things you cannot do.”

The school district confirmed the authenticity of the email. Calabro added that there is a protocol in place for soliciting money for students.

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