BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
FLEMMING ISLAND— Clay County School District officials responded to complaints from parents about the treatment of students during the school board’s Dec. 9 meeting.
Parent Holly Haddock of Green Cove Springs told board members that her son was attacked and molested on a school bus on Oct. 11, and that her interactions with the school district after the incident created more stress.
“The whole process was a nightmare for me,” she said.
Haddock said that after her son was hit in the face, she notified the school, which said it would follow up with the bus driver.
“That never happened,” she said. “I have had to chase people down in order to discuss this.”
She added that she found out her son was hit in the face on the bus the day after it happened and found out about the molestation later.
She said that she immediately reported the attack to the school, the sheriff’s office and the Florida Department of Children and Families.
“I was told by the school that they would contact me the next day,” she said. “That never happened.”
Haddock also said that bus video recording the incident was not viewed until 10 days after she reported it.
She added that throughout the investigation, she felt school officials addressed her in a condescending tone.
“I was told by the principal several times: let’s be rational,” Haddock recalled. “If this was your child, and somebody stuck their hand down his pants, both front and back, how could you be rational?”
Haddock asked the school board to clarify jurisdiction over who handles disciplinary matters when a school bus is in motion, adding that part of the problem was poor coordination between the sheriff’s office and the school district.
She also asked that the school district improve its communications with parents.
Board member Janice Kerekes asked her colleagues to review the district’s policy on such matters, and she also asked superintendent David Broskie to follow up with Haddock.
Board member Ashley Gilhousen and said it sounded to her like some of the problem was different government agencies being involved in the case.
“My heart goes out to you,” Gilhousen told Haddock.
Claims disability rights violated
Diana Toth of Middleburg also complained to the board about the treatment of her grandson of whom she is the guardian.
Toth told board members that after she asked that her grandson, a student at Clay Hill Elementary, be reevaluated for an individualized education program, officials retaliated against both her and her grandson.
“His disability rights were violated, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Toth said.
The grandmother said she was pleased with communications between herself and the student’s teacher.
“I had her phone number and cell number and she had mine,” Toth said. “She was calling me nonstop, texting me and so forth. I had no problems with it.”
Toth said that after an unsuccessful meeting with the child’s teacher and principal, she placed unanswered phone calls to the district’s ESE department, two phone calls to board member Tina Bullock, and a call to Superintendent Broskie.
“Tina did help with that conversation,” she said, “but I was not happy with that conversation with Mr. Broskie.”
Toth told board members that her grandson suffers from ADHD, anxiety with stress levels and late development.
She said that in her conversation with Broskie, she requested that she be present whenever her grandson was pulled from class for disciplinary reasons. She implied that Broskie denied the request.
“During one of the times that he was pulled from his class,” she said, “three, grown adults had a conversation with him and scared him to death. His anxiety that night was outrageous.”
Toth also complained that the six-year-old was given ice cream with red dye at school against her specific instructions, due to his ADHD. She added that the consumption of the dye created disciplinary issues that led to a suspension for her grandson.
Broskie said he was concerned about Toth’s claims of a lack of response from school district officials.
He said he looked into the matter and discovered that over the course of 80 school days, 101 phone calls were either received or placed to Toth, in addition to 97 emails.
“We’ve had two board members involved to help you out,” he told the woman. “We’ve had the chief academic officer under my direction, to kind of run point man, to kind of help you out with all the issues that have occurred. The chief of elementary education, the director of exceptional student education, two current principals, two staffing specialists, two teachers and even the school board attorney has been involved.”
“It’s clear to me that district personnel care about your child,” he added. “I, for one, certainly want to make it right.”
Broskie and Toth agreed to meet at 11 AM the next day.
