Montville - A mother and two high school students Tuesday night challenged the Board of Education to do more to prevent bullying in the schools.
Rose Bushwack, who has a son in the high school, spoke before the board at the end of its regular meeting.
She said her son has been threatened and hit twice – once in the head and once in the back – by a bully since the beginning of the school year. She said she was unhappy with the amount of time it took for school administrators to respond to the incident. She also said in a separate interview that threats have continued against him.
The students who spoke before the board Tuesday also said the school has not done enough to stop fights and a suicide attempt that were the result of bullying.
In an interview before Tuesday’s meeting, Bushwack said she is convinced that bullying is a growing problem in the town’s schools.
“It’s bigger, and they want to cover it up,” she said. “We already had one student take his life, and they’re trying to say it wasn’t anything to do with bullying.”
Bushwack was referring to 10th-grader Joseph Mendes, who committed suicide in late January. After his death, a Facebook memorial page linked Mendes’ death to bullying. He was new to the school district at the time of his death.
Board of Education Chairman David Rowley said Tuesday that he’s heard from Montville Resident State Trooper Sgt. Michael Collins and other state police that other factors may have played a part in Mendes’ death.
Collins did not return two phone calls seeking comment.
Rowley said that he takes Tuesday’s statements at the board meeting on bullying very seriously. But from his experience as a police officer, he said it’s often difficult to pinpoint instances of bullying.
“I really haven’t been able to identify a true bullying incident,” said Rowley, who said he often uncovers instances of harassment instead. “My way of thinking is one person is making another person feel very bad about themselves. That’s what bullying is about: Domination.
“… Again, I don’t think it’s bullying,” he said, referring to incidents he’s heard about in Montville High School.
“I’m not sure we have any events going on in our district that we have to be super-concerned about,” Rowley said.
Bushwack disagreed. While she declined to share her son’s name, she said bullying is a mounting concern.
“I don’t want my son being the next kid (to commit suicide),” she said. “Parents need to wake up and do something. I don’t see anything getting done.”
jeff.johnson@theday.com
Article source: http://www.theday.com/article/20110413/NWS01/304139869/-1/NWS