Over the past week, parents of Kosciusko School District students posted heated comments on social media expressing upset and anger with the district failure to inform them directly of alleged sexual assaults at Kosciusko Middle Elementary School.
Many lamented the fact that they only learned of the alleged incidents from a front page story in last week’s edition of The Star-Herald.
But when the board met Monday night, only one of those parents attended to discuss her concerns with the board and administrators in person.
A self-described community advocate also attended the meeting on a different matter, but talked about the KME issue, as well.
At the outset of public comments, community advocate Lashawn Speed-Lias told the board the African American community in town does not feel that their culture is highlighted as it should be, and is also concerned there appears to be a difference in how discipline is meted out.
She told the board that the recent recognition of Black History Month at Kosciusko High School should not have to have been organized by a small group of students, and that rumors surrounding the event made matters worse.
“We really need to get a grip on this so we don’t feel so divided. We’re a proud community; we all share that passion,” she said.
She also said there is a perception that discipline is not handled equally among students, and that black youths are being sent to the alternative school at disproportionate rates.
“Most of these kids aren’t fitting the profile of what the school is designed for,” said Speed-Lias. “We know that all children act out, but discipline needs to be done in a way where all the kids are being educated.”
Speed-Lias then mentioned the communication issue in relation to the alleged KME incidents.
“When the first time you find out about something is in the newspaper, that’s the wrong way to learn,” she told the board before mentioning all the social media comments parent’s had made about the matter.
“If we can read that in the newspaper, we could have gotten a letter,” she said. “We can’t make excuses; it could have been handled better.”
Parent Haley Nicole Martson expressed disappointment that she was the only parent who had been posting about the issue on social media to attend the meeting Monday night.
“I’m very disappointed in how many people were saying things that aren’t here tonight,” she told the board before expressing her concerns about how the district handled the situation.
“My upset about the situation was that I found out about it from the newspaper. We needed to know to sit down with our children and talk about it,” she said.
Board Vice Chairman Randy Fuller said both the board and parents need to work together to improve communications.
“The communication part is so important. I realize the seriousness of this situation. It is something the board needs to become more proactive on. We have to come off that way instead of looking defensive,” he said. “We need people to show up for regular meetings. When more people come to meetings, it puts more pressure on us.”
Chairman Dr. Kenneth Quick agreed.
“Now we can look at things a lot differently. With everyone’s help, we will come together and make changes,” he said. “You get in a comfort zone and we need to be knocked out of it.”
