Safety at Central Mountain High School a strongly voiced concern at KCSB meeting
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – Concern about school safety at Central Mountain High School was a focal point at the Keystone Central School Board meeting on Thursday night.
Five different community members voiced those concerns in the wake of a reported beating of a Central Mountain female student in a girls restroom at the high school on Monday morning of this week.
Superintendent Jacquelyn Martin touched on the incident in her meeting report, calling it “very serious…involving several minors” and stating additional comment would not be made as an investigation continues.
Members of the public to address the board included Sharon Wagner who said she is the mother of three school district students, one of whom she said was “brutally attacked” on Monday. She told the board, “My daughter was not kept safe; she was beaten for several minutes without intervention” and said it was the second such incident for her daughter. She said, “bullies are waiting” and asked what is being done.
Two students addressed the board, one of them a senior who noted she addressed the board on Feb. 2 and raised concerns then over bathroom issues at the high school. She said Monday’s victim “was lucky she wasn’t killed” and lauded teachers for their intervention. She said the school needs more security, including restrooms monitored by police and more guidance counselors. She said she is “tired of the violence; students shouldn’t have to look over their shoulders to feel safe.”
Another student said the school’s reputation is being “sullied” by the safety issue and said students and faculty are becoming; “desensitized” to the ongoing problem. He called for creation of a committee of teachers, students, parents and administrators to seek a solution.
Speakers also included Michele Whitney, a principal with the Clinton County Watchdog group and a candidate for Clinton County Commissioner. She read a statement she said was from Watchdog member Michael Remick who has been barred from going on school district property over a previous dispute with the district. The statement said the district can’t keep the high school safe and attacked the academic records of the district high schools and Sugar Valley Rural Charter School. She claimed incidents in the schools are being “swept under the rug” and the schools suffer from “staggering” truancy. She told the board that superintendent Martin should be released from her contract.
After the speakers were finished, board President David Dietrich said the district is moving “as fast as we can” on the issue of school safety. He had announced at last week’s board work session there would be public meetings on the topic to be scheduled.
