An Arroyo Seco Junior High School parent alleges that her son was attacked and threatened by a classmate on campus and there has been little consequence because the school staff’s “hands are tied.”
Deputy Robert Jensen, spokesman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, confirmed Wednesday that an incident report was taken on March 6 by Deputy Jonathan Hensley, the school’s resource deputy.
The report was for a minor who was the victim of a criminal threat, said Jensen.
According to a copy of the incident report provided by Sharon Olsen, her eighth-grade son was involved in an incident in which he was “pantsed” on March 5 in the school locker room by another student.
“My son was in P.E. class, and they were finishing P.E. getting dressed and this other student, for no reason, there was nothing that provokes this confrontation, came up to my son from behind him and pulled down his pants,” Olsen said in an interview.
The incident report states that Olsen’s son became upset and put the other student in a headlock, and the two boys began to fight until a nearby teacher heard the commotion and separated the boys. There were no injuries reported from the fight.
“While on the way to the administration building, (the student attacker) said he was going to bring a knife to school and kill (Olsen’s son). Other students nearby (the student attacker) heard that comment and notified school staff as well as (Olsen’s son), who was not nearby when the statement was made,” read the deputy’s report.
Olsen added that after her son heard his attacker made these threats he feared for his life and was not presenting “his normal behavior.”
Her son told Hensley, according to the report, that he used to be friends with the student who attacked him, but they weren’t friends anymore and had not spoken recently before the incident in the locker room.
The incident report of criminal threats was filed and Olsen said she obtained a temporary restraining order against the attacker.
Jensen said that the youth suspect was arrested, and he was cited and released to his parents. He is due for an appearance at the Sylmar Juvenile Courthouse on May 30.
Despite Olsen’s concern for her son’s safety, she said school Principal Lori Gambero told her the student would be allowed back on campus.
“The principal was saying that the student is going to be allowed to return to school despite this and that it’s not their job to enforce a restraining order, but that when the student returns, they’re going to create a safety plan,” said Olsen. “And I’m like, that doesn’t make sense. If you need to have a safety plan to bring someone back, isn’t that saying the student probably shouldn’t be here?”
When Olsen brought her concerns to the school, staff told her they were still actively looking into the investigation and confirming when the threats were made. Olsen contends that it doesn’t matter when the threats were made – a student shouldn’t be allowed back if they’re threatening another student.
The updates she received were that the student was suspended following the incident but would eventually be allowed back on campus and they could not tell her when.
“The only information I know is from the principal saying that the lawyers are already aware of it and that it’s nothing that they can do. We can’t keep this student from coming back, is what the principal is telling me,” said Olsen. “I never honestly expected to have to be fighting for my son to safely go to school.”
William S. Hart Union High School District officials say they cannot comment on the case. In response to a request for comment, Superintendent Michael Vierra, governing board President Cherise Moore, and Tara Brown, assistant superintendent of student services, all referred comment to go through Debbie Dunn, communications coordinator for the district, who provided a written statement that was identical to one provided in response to a former Golden Valley High School student’s lawsuit against the district over unrelated allegations of bullying on that campus.
“We cannot discuss individual student issues,” Dunn wrote in the emailed statement. “The Hart district takes all allegations of threats or bullying very seriously. Although every situation is unique, staff have been trained to investigate thoroughly and communicate with families, in order to ensure a safe environment for all students and staff. We encourage students and parents to immediately report safety concerns to school staff including administrators, counselors, social workers, and teachers or through our CareText lines.”
Gambero also referred a request for comment last week to go through Dunn.
According to board policy 5144.1, the Hart district board develops rules and regulations setting the standards of behavior expected of students and the disciplinary processes and procedures for addressing violations of those standards, including suspension and/or expulsion.
The policy also states a student can only be expelled by the board. The superintendent or a principal may recommend expulsion if a student has been found to have violated any of the regulations set in the policy on campus or off-campus.
The accompanying administrative regulation 5144.1 states that an additional ground for students to be suspended or expelled would be if a student “caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical injury to another person.”
Olsen said she saw on social media that other parents were reporting similar situations and commenting on how they felt the district and schools were not doing what they could to protect their children against bullying.
“There’s like hundreds of comments that you read, and you see it’s not an isolated event. It’s like the schools are not protecting our kids and I don’t understand why,” said Olsen.
“Violence and bullying in our schools is apparently not being addressed and this is only going to lead to more tragedies,” wrote Olsen in an emailed statement. “Our children deserve to be able to go to school and not be afraid they are going to be bullied, injured, or killed.”
