CLEARFIELD – A worried grandmother addressed the Clearfield Area School Board during Monday night’s regular voting meeting regarding an ongoing issue of bullying at the Clearfield Area Elementary School.
Tamara Olen said she had addressed the board two months into the school year regarding her grandchild being bullied, and that she ended up addressing the matter on Facebook when the district didn’t resolve the issue, and now there is a second student bullying her grandchild.
Among other incidents, at least one bully has directed racial slurs towards him.
She said it began two years ago and she has spoken to principals, teachers and even the school resource officers, adding that while one of the SROs was friendly and helpful, the other was rude to her.
Olen said she has been told that the incidents haven’t been where the cameras are, or there hasn’t been audio.
Three weeks ago, she said her grandchild was punched in the face twice and it seemed no one was concerned, and again Monday there was another incident.
Additionally, other parents have told her that their children have been targeted by the bullies as well. She added that one of the bullies was being targeted by another bully, and her grandchild stood up for him.
“I don’t know what needs to happen,” Olen said, “I’m coming to you guys and saying this is an ongoing issue and it’s being swept under the rug.”
“I’m willing to do whatever you need me to do,” she said, adding that students need to be able to go to school without fear of harassment.
Normally the board members do not remark on public comments, but board President Greg Clarke did speak to Olen after her comments.
He said that the responsibility of the board at this point is to listen, but he wanted Olen to know she was heard. He said the board needs to be told when these things happen and appreciates her coming forward.
Clarke said he didn’t know what the solution could be, but that they need to know these things are happening, “I really hope we can find some kind of remedy,” he said, adding that he understands as he too was bullied as a student.
Just prior to the review of the education and personnel committee report, Superintendent Terry Struble noted several staff members are retiring with 188 years of experience among them, mostly at Clearfield.
They include Raymond Mandell, secondary music teacher; Donald Billotte, secondary social studies teacher; Deborah Clark, elementary librarian; Linda Wingate, secondary science teacher and Sandra Myers, fifth- and sixth-grade teacher.
Struble also noted that the district would like to add cameras to the buildings but a meeting scheduled to review the camera software didn’t happen when the contractor didn’t show and didn’t call, so the district has requested another meeting through the parent company.