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Altoona must issue response in bullying case

The serious bullying and sexual harassment accusations leveled by a student at the March 12 meeting of the Altoona Area School Board demand that, within the bounds of privacy constraints, parents and other district residents are apprised of official findings of an investigation that was promised.

Also within the bounds of privacy constraints, it’s important that the board issue a public report of actions taken in response to what allegedly occurred, if actions were deemed necessary.

At the meeting earlier this month, an eighth-grader alleged that she has been a victim of bullying and sexual harassment both this school year and when she was a seventh-grader.

She informed the board that, despite notifying her guidance counselor and school administration — and despite her mother’s involvement in trying to get the situation corrected — the bullying and harassment have continued.

Those who have made her life in school miserable have not been punished, she alleged.

It’s hard to fathom how the alleged conduct targeting the girl could have persisted at a time when schools, including the local district, supposedly are so committed to watching out for — and halting — such problems.

The March 12 presentation regarding the girl — if that presentation was accurate — indicates that the district has much work to do.

Commendably at the board session, Charles Prijatelj, district superintendent, promised an immediate investigation into the allegations. However, school directors also should have voted to launch an official inquiry of their own into what allegedly occurred, as well as the subsequent responses and non-responses, and promised a full report to the public within the bounds of regulations governing the release of such information.

There must be confidence within the district that school officials aren’t pooh-poohing such problems.

If the girl’s allegations are true, it’s puzzling why school officials failed to bring in law enforcement.

Is there timidity on the part of some school leaders about attacking such problems? Have there been communication failures between administrators, reluctance by some teachers and administrators to “go to the top” — meaning to Prijatelj and the board — when there have been uncertainties about how to respond or when problems have been ignored?

No teacher or school official should consider bullying and harassment just a part of growing up.

Bullying and harassment have been accorded so much attention across the nation in recent years. It’s no secret that some schools have experienced violence stemming from such conduct.

Some bullying victims have resorted to suicide to escape the torment, a situation with which Altoona is tragically familiar.

When school districts are uncertain over how to proceed about an issue, they have the resources of law enforcement, the legal profession and the courts to provide guidance.

The March 12 allegations, if they are indeed true, show that the district needs to reiterate its sensitivity regarding such problems and reaffirm that bullying and harassment will be accorded zero tolerance, going forward.

Additionally, the public needs assurance that the students who have allegedly tormented the girl in question are being dealt with as the situation demands.

No excuse is acceptable as to why the alleged torment was allowed to linger uncorrected for so long.

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