Parents are outraged about a bullying problem they say is getting out of control in the Edgewood Junior High school halls. It stemmed from reports of a teenager who was pulled from school because of excessive bullying. A 13-year-old was also taken to the hospital after getting into a fight.
The school hosted a meeting Wednesday night so parents could discuss ways to eliminate the problem.
Fox 59 spoke with the mother of the girl who was suspended after the fight. Nicole Sparks says her daughter is the real victim. The mother of two says her daughters are scared to go back to school. Her 13-year-old was suspended after fighting back another girl Sparks calls the real bully.
"I'm sorry that this other little girl's hurt, but she was doing the bullying," said Sparks. "The little girl snatched my daughter up, slung her against the locker, [gave her] five fingerprint bruises, and punched her in the throat. My little girl fought back."
"All you're trying to do is sweep it under the rug," said Brian Trisler, whose 12-year-old tried to protect a classmate who was being bullied. "My daughter went to the principal and she said, 'You don't look intimidated so move on out the street.'"
Emotions went high after school leaders dismissed the meeting. The purpose of the gathering was to define what bullying is. However, some parents complained they were not allowed to speak and the school has ignored the big bullying problem.
School leaders said they are working to check into all these reports and find who is responsible.
"This is the [biggest] outcry we've had in my 12 years on the board," said Jimmie Durnil, a Richland-Bean Blossom School Board Member. "You have to remember some of this is blown out of proportion. We have got to make sure we get the bottom of it and make sure we don't overreact. But we do have a problem. There's no doubt about that. We do have a problem."
