By Rupert Howell

South Panola School District is taking additional steps, some already under consideration, following an alleged bullying incident at Batesville Junior High Monday, September 12  School Superintendent Dr. Keith Shaffer told trustees at their monthly board meeting Tuesday night.

The alleged incident made Memphis news when the mother of the victim contacted media outlets, both local and regional, expressing her concerns about bullying stating, “I am one parent willing to stand up for my child and other children to protect them.”

Shaffer noted the incident happened at the school at approximately 7 a.m. prior to the drop-off time of 7:15 before teachers are on duty. He told trustees Tuesday that schedules have been rearranged for staff to be on duty earlier.

Shaffer also noted that the school district had already been in negotiations with a company that would allow students to anonymously report bullying incidents or students with emotional issues who might be in danger of hurting themselves or others.

The parent’s letter noted that a bully squeezed her son’s neck until he lost consciousness and then slung him to the ground where he hit his neck on the concrete. The letter states that onlookers reported her son was then unconscious with his body shaking and jerking.

The student was taken for tests late that evening by the parent where a CT scan was clear, but the parent wanted answers and went to the school the following day to talk to administrators, the school nurse and the school’s resource officer.

School authorities checked the student and found nothing seriously wrong. The parent thinks the student wasn’t checked thoroughly enough and that she should have been notified much earlier of the incident.

The parent’s letter also stated that bullying had begun a year or so earlier but her son chose to remain silent until the recent incident.

School officials weren’t aware of the severity of the recent incident according to Shaffer who then told of plans underway for the anonymous reporting system.

The alleged bully has received a ten-day suspension with Shaffer noting that no complaints had ever been made before. Shaffer told trustees that the aggressor’s status was working through due process according to school policy.

He described it as an isolated incident handled strictly by the book. “We handled the situation according to our policy.  Our staff handled that correctly and so we’re moving on.”

The parent’s statement said that others are stepping up and talking about their children that “this has happened too.”

“We are all in agreement we want bullying to end! No child should ever be fearful of walking into a school and being attacked viciously,” she said.

Shaffer said yesterday that he was meeting with the parent that afternoon.
(The name of the aggrieved parent was omitted by this newspaper as a policy of not revealing juvenile victims.)