The Liberty County School System is addressing certain behavioral issues from some students. This is likely in response to a recent rash of videos posted to social media showing students fighting in the hallways and school buses.
The videos were posted about two weeks ago and have since been removed. The topic of bullying and Tik-Tok social media challenges was brought up during audience participation at the Nov. 9 school board meeting.
“How are we going to teach our children about bullying, when bullying is coming from the central office and our administrators?’ asked Kisya Burnett. “There is a problem going on with social media and all of these challenges.
There is something that needs to be addressed before we lose one of our kids to this bullying challenge.”
LCSS Superintendent Dr. Franklin Perry said they are dealing with the matter.
“We are seeing things and experiencing things due to COVID-19,” he said. “One of those things is that they (some students) seem to be all over the place and we’ve been trying to settle them down. Some of things that we had accomplished over the last 3, 4 and 5 years, we kind of went backwards. And that is both academically and behavior wise. I guess from being separated and not being around other children, we are seeing a small population, which we are working with, to get them back to where they need to be.”
Perry said it is an adjustment period and the educators and staff are working diligently to get things back on track for those individuals and the overall student body.
“We are working with our children to get them back and acclimated in working with each other, and treating each other (right) so we can go further down the road,” he said, adding that it is going to take some time.
Board Chair Lily Baker said they have identified that some children need help to address their behavior and is thankful the system is looking to bring aboard more behavioral coaches. She said the LCSS is not alone in addressing this matter and other districts are dealing with similar situations.
“It’s happening everywhere,” she said. “It is not unique to Liberty County.”
“The expectation of the Liberty County School System is that all students will follow the rules and be respectful of their peers in our schools and on our buses and the majority of our students do so,” said Cathy Lane Director of Public Relations. “However, there are a few students who choose to ignore the rules at times and when they do, they are dealt with based on the student code of conduct.”
Disturbing Tik-Tok challenges are not new. In September the challenge, according to a list provided by Distractify, was to vandalize school restrooms. Locally several videos were posted on social media showing several school restrooms in Bryan County had been vandalized during that challenge. According to the list October’s challenge was to smack a staff member. While no videos were posted showing students hitting school staff, the posted videos did show violent physical attacks between students.
A list circulating online suggests these are the challenges for each month of the school year:
• November: Kiss your friend’s girlfriend at school
• December: Deck the halls and show your balls
• January: Jab a breast
• February: Mess up school signs
• March: Make a mess in the courtyard or cafeteria
• April: “Grab some eggz” (another stealing challenge)
• May: Ditch-day
• June: Flip off in the front office
• July: Spray a neighbor’s fence In other business
The BOE approved travel for track coaches to attend a professional coach clinic at the University of South Carolina Nov. 19-20. The cost is $600 and is coming from the Bradwell Boys’ track account.
They approved to retrofit 61 school buses with air conditioners. Installation of the air-conditioning units is projected to start in January 2022 and is expected to be completed in April 2022. This purchase will complete A/C installation on all buses in the fleet. The bid was awarded to Pro Air at a cost of $581,850. Funded by the CARES act.
The Board approved the replacement the roof membranes at both local high schools. The award was given to Roofing Professional Incorporated. The cost for Bradwell repairs is $438,370. The cost for Liberty County High School is $205,700. The funding will come from the Education Local Option Sales Tax (EPLOST).
The Board approved to replace the emergency generator at Liberty County High School. The current generator is 27 years old and has exceeded its service life. The bid was awarded to Generac at a cost of $29,450 and funded by ESPLOST.