Bullying discussed in work session

During a Tucumcari Public Schools board work session last week about student bullying, the superintendent said he would consider adding agenda items about serial offenders and hiking ticket prices for middle-schoolers at the board’s next meeting.

Superintendent Aaron McKinney said he would meet with principals and consult with attorneys on possible action items for the board’s regular meeting on Oct. 17. (That meeting was after after the Quay County Sun’s deadline; a report will be in the next edition.)

About 15 people, including a few students, attended the work session. Many weighed in on the bullying issue, though no consensus emerged on how prevalent it is in Tucumcari schools.

McKinney said he would consult with principals on amending district policy on harassment, bullying and cyberbullying prevention to address serial bullies. Several at the meeting noted the rules address “persistent” acts by one student against another, but not necessarily one who bullies multiple students in the short term.

The ticket-price idea emerged from athletic director Wayne Ferguson, who said a number of school districts charge much higher admission to sports events for children in middle school and younger unaccompanied by a parent.

He said the higher fee is designed to discourage middle-schoolers from attending games. Ferguson said several middle-school students have been banned from games due to bad behavior.

High-school principal Nicole Bright-Lesly said some parents few high-school football games as “an easy babysitting service” for their children. She said trouble often occurs with unaccompanied young students there.

Board member Jerry Lopez, who has been vocal about bullying at previous meetings, said parents leaving unaccompanied children at games is “kind of like neglect.”

Sariah Mardo, a junior at the high school and a member of the student council, robotics team and other extracurricular activities, told the board she “personally hasn’t seen much” bullying and instead has witnessed heated discussions or arguments that turn “rude or mean.” She said most students at the high school get along.

Faculty member Tommy Evans said of bullying the high school: “In the hallways, I just don’t see it.” He said he is surprised by such reports.

Ferguson said in his investigations, he’s found no proven instances of bullying during the school year. He said he investigates all bullying reports, even if they occur away from campus.

“If it happens off school grounds, it affects their education,” he said.

Ferguson said each student’s disciplinary file is kept for five years.

Cassie Huffman, a mental health counselor in Tucumcari, said she’s heard four bullying allegations.

“I repeatedly hear that nothing’s getting done about it,” she said.

Huffman said she also has warned her children that bad behavior in school will lead to a bad reputation and track record.

“Kids need to know that it’s going to follow them,” she said.

Bright-Lesly said the district offered mediation sessions before the COVID-19 pandemic and suggested reviving it with Huffman’s help.

“We can build bridges in this small community,” Bright-Lesly said.

She also said more parents need to be involved.

Lopez noted “communication needs to be opened up better” at the district, but that parents also need to read the student handbook.

“They’re not doing it,” he said.

Evans noted, “I’ve met parents who are less mature than the student.”

Tucumcari’s acting police chief, Pete Rivera, said bullying has been persistent among local students for years — many of them outside of school.

“I think it’s a problem,” he said. “It’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Lopez said the board needs to be more “proactive” on the issue.

“Let’s not be the next Uvalde school district,” he said, referring to the mass shooting in May at an elementary school in Texas.

McKinney said if the district is aware of of cyberbullying by a student, school officials are required to notify local law enforcement.

Rivera said with online harassment, city officers will write a report and take the alleged offender to the juvenile and probation office, though he added that cyberbullying is rare.

Board member Matthew Pacheco said it would be “a monumental task” for the school district to sift through social media for instances of cyberbullying.

Bright-Lesly and Evans praised the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program, which sets up a social contract of respect and accountability between students and teachers.

School officials said they would set up a Google Document form on the district’s website that would allow parents or students to report bullying anonymously.