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Student’s suicide and allegations of bullying roil Paso Robles school district

February 29, 2016

bully1By KAREN VELIE

One child is dead and another has been pulled from a Paso Robles middle school amid allegations of bullying, harassment and physical assaults by students. Parents have taken to Facebook to discuss what some call a culture of bullying.

“Lewis Middle School really needs to address their issues on bullying…and maybe think about the victims instead of the bullies and their confidentiality,” Ann Barton posted on Facebook. “I have personally dealt with that garbage and I know another mother who got a restraining order against a student that was bullying and what did the district do? Send the bully to Flamson!”

Paso Robles Joint Unified School District officials responded Thursday by addressing parents at Daniel E. Lewis Middle School. Next week, district officials will speak with concerned parents at George H. Flamson Middle School to discuss programs already in place to address campus bullying.

Nevertheless, some parents claim district staff has failed to properly respond to allegations of bullying.

Until last month, Monica Gusimat’s 11-year-old daughter attended George H. Flamson Middle School. However, after months of cyber bullying and a physical assault, Gusimat took her child out of public school and began homeschooling her, Gusimat said.

Back in September, Gusimat first informed school staff that one student had punched her child in the head and several students were harassing her. The head of student security services, Henry Jenkins, thought her daughter was overreacting, Guzimat said.

“First, he said she was exaggerating and then he told me the other kid had not hit my daughter that hard,” Guzimat said. “My daughter would walk down the hall and kids would say here comes the fat girl run. Teachers would see it and not say anything.”

Other students would tell Guzimat’s daughter she was stupid, no one liked her and she should just kill herself, Guzimat said.

After the 11-year-old left the school in the middle of February, one sixth grade student continued to send her text messages asking her to commit suicide.

“Okay bitch, go kill yourself and leave other people alone,” the student wrote. “ Whatever bitch I’m just saying, I will be the happiest girl ever if you killed yourself.”

Since then, Jenkins is on a leave of absence and one student was suspended for several days, Guzimat said. School officials confirmed Jenkins was on leave, but were unsure if he would be returning to the district.

On Feb. 3, a 12-year-old student of Lewis Middle School took her own life. Shortly afterwards, her mother posted allegations of bullying on Facebook.

“My daughter was bullied to death,” the mother wrote on Facebook. “I am in grief, not just for me but for her as well. She carried this all on her own ,telling two friends only, but never disclosing the name of who was bullying her. My little girl was so brave and courageous, but I think she was too afraid to share the name of who it was.”

Both the district and the Paso Robles Police Department opened investigations into the allegations that  the child was bullied before her death.

The district investigation determined the allegations of bullying were rumors, said Martha Clayton, the district’s pubic relations officer. “The police are still investigating.”

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I believe the bullying has gotten worse with the technology because bully’s also no longer have to fear being punched in the face.


My father would not allow my brother and I to tolerate someone being bullied and we knew we had to step in on behalf of the weaker kid and take on the bully. he taught us that they were pussies who would crumble in a fight and they always did. Otherwise they wouldn’t be bullies.


Now that kids cant step up for fear of lawsuits, expulsion, etc..Chivalry, unfortunately is dead, and these kids are now on their own in many instances.


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School administrators are all talk and no action politicians.


School administrators are bureaucratic jellyfish who do not want to go through the trouble of expelling bad apples for a few reasons.


First, expelling a kid is actually work and requires follow through. Being jellyfish with no spine, it is hard for school administrators to stand up to parents of loser children who disrupt the learning environment of other children.


Second, follow the money. Schools get money for students showing up to school. School districts are loath to expel children with disciplinary issues. This is true for all districts, even the wealthy ones, after Governor Brown changed the local funding structure of schools. Thus, the children who are likelier to cause discipline problems, low income students and English Learners, are the students who net the schools the most money! What other parents see as a bully that must be removed, the school district sees as a source of needed revenue.


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Our litigious society is also equally to blame, in addition to the flaccid school administrators.


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This has been going on for years in Paso. My son is 24 years old and Jenkins did the same thing then. They deal with the kids they can deal with and ignore the kids and parents they can’t deal with… Meaning they are scared of them or have a communication barrier. Jenkins was a joke back then and I guess he still is. Sad thing, he did not have the education he needed to be in the position he was in… I wonder if he does now? Read the California education laws, rules etc…. I did… You all need too!


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Suck it up buttercup their are mean people out there. Jesus was bullied and you can either turn the other cheek or punch them in the nose and end that crap right now. Quit training your kids to be self indulgent cry baby victims. Sorry if you feel bullied by this post ( not)!


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Jon Tatro,


A biblical correction for you. Jesus essentially stated that if you’re bullied by anyone, you’re to take it, where there is absolutely no punching of the bully involved. Yes, Jesus’ position makes one a wussy, but who is anyone to argue with what Jesus states? Correct, no one.


JESUS STATES: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,[a] let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matthew 5:38-41)


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Isn’t Jesus’ stance a position of strength?


In other words, whatever the other person shall do will not adversely affect you and retaliation is not necessary because their actions have not affect. That is true strength.


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achillesheal,


“Isn’t Jesus’ stance a position of strength?”


No, as the bible so states, Jesus was a milquetoast. Only on Jesus’ return will He throw this moniker aside when He kills many that had the audacity not to believe in Him. (Revelation, chapter 9)


If you want to change Jesus’ modus operandi as shown in the passage in question, then you’re going to have to give us biblical back-up, but, that would show a contradiction, and where there is contradiction, there’re lies because both entities cannot be correct at the same time.


For one to build their faith upon contradiction, which one is a lie, or both are, is very detrimental to the faith.


You’re problems lies in the fact that you’re questioning the Bronze Age bible too much, shhhhhhh.


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Have to disagree with you there Ted:


John 2:15 “And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables”


Matthew 7:19 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.…


Jesus could kick a little ass every now and then. Don’t be fooled.


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Spoken like a true bully


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I’m really happy you’re not not wearing a badge and “protecting” the residents of Paso Robles any more. Your post would indicate you get to decide who is worthy of protection. Pathetic.


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Administration and teachers just don’t care. My daughter saw kids being bullied at SLO High. She reported it to the office. What did they do? Nothing, they did a short investigation and then blamed both kids and then did nothing. That was the last time that my daughter reported anything she saw. It’s useless, they don’t stop it. All the staff just doesn’t want to fight with parents or to assume any liability or responsibility.


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Bullies used to be reigned in when their parents were sat down by the school administration, or by the popular kids and jocks from good families and churches who taught them to look after more vulnerable kids. No more, the parents are unfit and so are their offspring. My SLO High class included the children of prominent families that had respect for others and the community. Phil Prijatel hammered this concept into every muscle-head who he ever coached or disciplined.


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Ahh.. the great Coach Prijatel.


I remember playing “Smear the Queer” under his P.E. supervision. It was played in the pool where whoever had the ball was held underwater by the others until he let the ball go. Great times… deciding between winning the game and needing air.


I had no problem with it at the time, but looking back at that, you realize how wrong it was.


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SLO is the worst for cover ups.


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Cover up


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Who are these parents that let their 11yr old kids run free and wild online?

And you guys can’t figure out why Trump and his bully tactics are so popular with the voters…it’s in our culture. Sad to see it but we will talk about this tragedy for a few weeks, maybe a month and then go right back to letting social media raise our kids.


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Sadly what you say is so true – bullying is in our culture. Lots of people out there – (Donald Trump included) seem to think it’s cool and powerful to make fun of others. Parents have the power to pull the plug on the social media, and they should. Schools have the power to launch a community wide anti bullying campaign, implement firm rules and stick to them, and hand out rewards to the kind students. And they should. It takes a ton of commitment on the schools part to follow through – and I sure hope they do!


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I am appalled at the paso school district, to hear it has done very little to stop this in its entirety.

How many more innocent victim must suffer at the hands of the ones who are doing the bulling . What about the bully? what consequences have been given to cause another child to kill themselves and another to think maybe she will.

Shame on you paso robles school district. Make a stand that will erase this once and for all. Or are you in fear of parents pulling their children from your district . A child is more than a denomination . He or she is a daughter or a son, even a sister or a brother ect. They are our precious children which cannot be replaced. This bulling has gone to far. It’s time to take a stand and Really stomp out bulling. I pray something will finally be done. To the victims parents. No words can describe the pain a parent must go through to lose or possibly lose their child. This is heart wrenching .


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I hold the parents completely responsible for the abhorrent behavior of their children in the absence of any parenting skills, family values, morals, or personal accountability.

QUIT allowing social media to raise your children.

You should be ashamed of yourselves and your offspring.


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