Nicole Clark, a concerned parent and resident of Lakewood, speaks to Southwestern Central School District board members during a school board meeting Tuesday. Clark discussed issues of alleged bullying happening at the middle school. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Complaints from parents of Southwestern Central School students about alleged bullying filled the high school multipurpose room during a meeting of the board of education Tuesday.

District resident Nicole Clark said that her children are afraid to come to school in fear of being assaulted and bullied.

During the public comment session, Clark asked board members questions regarding out of school suspension (OSS). Here are some of Clark’s questions:

— What is the policy on how many times can a student receive OSS before the next step? What is the next step?

— How many times is a student allowed to assault multiple, different students before receiving more than OSS? What is the next step?

— How much assaulting has to take place before there’s a superintendent’s hearing?

— What does it take to get a superintendent’s hearing?

Clark said she has two children in middle school and one child in elementary school. Clark said the child in the elementary school likes school.

“But my kids in the middle school are scared every day to come. And I know others are too. I can’t speak for others but my two (children) are scared to come. They don’t feel safe every day,” Clark added.

Another district resident, Albert Persia, said his son has been harassed and bullied as well. Persia said his daughter went through SWCS and did not have any problems, but his son started being bullied in middle school.

“We started hearing comments through middle school about some concerns about being intimidated by other children — a little bit of bullying,” Persia said.

Persia said last year, his son was randomly tapped on the shoulder, and then smacked in the face by one student who was in a group of children. Persia added, recently, his son was an alleged victim of cyberbullying, where a boy from the middle school threatened Persia’s son with a knife, and Persia also noted that when his son returned to school, he allegedly was bullied again. Persia also said that his son did not want to return to school.

“And I feel bad, not just for myself, but for everyone else who has been going through this all this time. This shouldn’t be. And there’s always been some type of a bullying situation at school. But, this is above and beyond normal school bullying, threats to life, repeatedly and not just ones to my son, but it sounds like to other children,” Persia noted.

Persia said he went to the Lakewood-Busti Police Department to file a report on the alleged cyberbully, and is waiting to see what will happen.

Persia said that he realizes how challenging it is to manage situations like these, but he added that it seems like the alleged bullies have been given “more than enough chances.”

“And they (alleged bullies) keep proving that they’re making lives very challenging for these children that will affect them for years ahead,” he said.

Because of the sensitive information presented to the board, President Kurt Gustafson let Persia speak for more than the allotted time. Gustafson also thanked the group of concerned parents for coming, and said SWCS is not the only school district that experiences these types of situations, and outlined steps to get the alleged bullying stopped and resolved.

“It’s my understanding that nobody has come to the superintendent directly to sit down, and ask for a meeting to discuss anything. So, I think that’s going to be our first step,” Gustafson told the group.

Gustafson added there should be a spokesperson for the group to arrange a meeting with Superintendent Maureen Donahue through the district clerk.

“It’s probably going to take more than one meeting, frankly, because it sounds like there’s a lot of issues,” Gustafson said.

He added that the spokesperson will have to work up the chain of command, and from what Gustafson gathered from parents is that Middle School Principal Richard Rybicki is involved and knowledgeable of the alleged bullying situations.

“Communication is extremely important,” Gustafson said. “I can tell you from personal experience, in my line of work, that these concerns are shared by a number of school districts in the county, and probably through the state. So the only way we’re going to deal with them and make them better is if we’re aware of these things, and that information is shared appropriately.”

The board president noted that all school boards are governed by federal privacy laws, and information about students can’t be shared willingly.

“That’s one of the things that we have to be mindful of,” Gustafson said about the privacy laws.

“So, I suggest that you make that appointment as soon as possible, and let Mrs. Donahue know if these things are getting any worse, and keep her apprised of what’s happening in school.”

Another district resident asked the board if members could review the threats of violence and make sure that policy is being followed.

On the school’s website, swcsk12.org, there is a code of conduct policy 3410 “code of conduct on school property.” To view the policy, double click the “our district” tab, then double click the “board of education” tab, and then, on the left side of the page, under board of education, double click the “policies and procedures” tab. Policy 3410 is listed under “Behavior, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-Harassment,” and under “Code of Conduct.” By clicking on the policy number, a PDF will begin downloading for your review.