At the April 12 Board of Education meeting, the topic of bullying within the school system was on the minds of the people who participated in the audience participation portion of the meeting. Student advocate Patrick Underwood was the first to address the issue.
“We have a serious issue on bullying in the school system. I’ve seen so many videos,” Underwood said. “I mean, just last week somebody sent me something where the boy was on the ground. I mean, my heart dropped. We got to take this seriously. I don’t think we are. I just don’t see it.”
Underwood mentioned his Facebook page called “Parents Involved in Liberty County Schools.” He said he knows some of the school principals, board members and central staff personnel don’t like the page very much.
“And that is fine,” he said. “It’s been there for seven years, and it’s not going anywhere. They don’t like it because parents go on there and vent. I let them vent because you all need to know what is going on in your schools.
“My purpose for creating this page was to give parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders a place to post their children’s accomplishments and their school moments of greatness. It also helps to bridge the communication gap between the community of parents and our schools.”
Another teacher and student advocate, Kisya Burnett, also brought up the topic of bullying and said she feared for the children’s safety. “We keep hearing that you are doing your best,” Burnett said. “You sound like a broken record. It’s time to change; our kids’ lives are at stake.”
Burnett said she understands that the way the school system is allowed to handle kids these days is different than when she was a little girl, when you immediately got punished. But she said something needs to be done to stop the bullying before a child is lost.
“If we lose another child to bullying or any issues that are going on because of the lifestyle that they choose, their blood is on your hands,” she told the board. “You cannot sit here and call yourself a Christian when you don’t have the kids at heart. Because God said, ‘Do right by His children and His elderly.’” It’s not the first time parents have expressed their concerns about kids being bullied in school and educators being restricted when it comes to informing the community regarding incidents in their classrooms and hallways. Parents have shared links showing that students at one local middle school have created Instagram pages featuring videos of fights between kids, some from inside the school, as well as Instagram pages where some kids and faculty are portrayed in a negative manner.
The Courier emailed LCSS Superintendent Dr. Franklin Perry on April 4 to ask if the school system or board were aware of the Instagram pages, but no reply was received.
During the April 13 evening parent session, Perry said there are federal laws in place that determine the manner in which children can be disciplined, especially special needs children.
One parent said bullying is a real concern, adding that her son was assaulted in class at Waldo Pafford Elementary and was kicked in the face once on a school bus. She said she wasn’t able to immediately address the matter with school officials, and her son was attacked two more times.
Perry said his personal cell phone number is listed on the district website.
“I will go with you,” Perry said. “I will go with you to the school.”
He also said parents need to teach their children how to act properly.
A recommendation was made that the school system suspend Unity Day, held on the third Wednesday in October each year, when kids and teachers wear orange to school in a stand against bullying, until professionals could be brought in to teach kids and educators about the dangers of bullying.
Parents also told Perry that the school system needs to treat its educators better and that the LCSS is losing educators and staff at an alarming rate. And according to the Thomasville Times-Enterprise, the LCSS may be losing another high-level employee. In an article posted March 18, the Grady County Board of Education identified two candidates as finalists for its superintendent search, one the current LCSS Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Zheadric E. Barbra.
Perry noted that educators were just issued a bonus that the board approved during its meeting the evening before. But parents said they want Perry to be more proactive when it comes to the needs of educators.
One parent pointed to the example of teachers losing their COVID leave pay. They reminded Perry that board member Marcus Scott IV recommended that the LCSS continue COVID leave pay, but the board declined to do so.
Perry said educators have paid time off and, depending on their seniority, they continue to earn time off.
Parents were also upset that two previous parent sessions were cancelled because they weren’t allowed to livestream the sessions for other parents who could not attend in person. They called Perry unprofessional for walking out of the sessions.
Perry vowed to do better immediately.