Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The subject of bullying came up Nov. 24 at the Colfax School District board meeting when a local woman came to ask why more hasn’t been done about a case involving her daughter.
Michelle Gienapp spoke to the board in the open forum “Items from the Floor” section of the meeting.
She told the board of how, three days after moving to Colfax in November 2013, her nine-year-old daughter was harassed at the bus stop.
Gienapp responded to the incident by going to talk to the kids involved, but the matter continued.
“My kid has been physically abused, at the bus stop, on the bus,” Gienapp said.
She told how she contacted the bus driver and then Jennings Elementary Principal Tom Arlt.
“I never got a phone call back from nobody at the school,” she said.
Gienapp then filed incident reports with the police department and obtained a no-contact order from district court.
Soon after, her daughter was removed from the bus by order of the school.
“You remove the kids that are harassing, or bullying, not the kid being bullied,” Gienapp said, continuing on to tell the board that she took her daughter out of the Colfax school district in October.
“Do you guys watch the news?” she asked, regarding the increased awareness of bullying. “People are pulling their kids from this school. Why?”
District Superintendent Michael Morgan responded, noting that many Colfax parents work in Pullman, for example, and use the daycare offered there.
“That’s what these parents are telling us,” he said.
“Don’t you want to keep all your children in your school district?” Gienapp responded. “What is it gonna take? What as a town and community are you gonna do? It’s gotta stop. Kids are committing suicide if they’re not taking it out on others.”
She reiterated that she felt her child was not safe here, which is why she moved her to Steptoe.
She then told of her experience with Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay and local law enforcement.
“They didn’t protect and serve me. They didn’t protect and serve my child,” Gienapp said.
Board member David Nails suggested Gienapp may want to go to the city council, since representatives from the police department are at each meeting.
“That was probably gonna be my next stop,” Gienapp said.
Morgan then assured her of the district’s anti-bullying efforts and how they respond when a case comes to their attention.
It’s first investigated.
“If we can document it, then we can deal with it,” he said.
Repercussions include suspensions and counseling.
“Nothing is being done, is my whole point,” Gienapp said.
Arlt, who was also at the school board meeting, then spoke, noting first that he is prevented from talking about specific kids in the public forum.
“Each and every day we do everything we can to prevent bullying and harassment,” he said. “We have three different social skills (curriculum). I’m in the lunchroom, watching, separating kids when needed .”
He then ran down the school’s three-strikes contract for bullies.
“It’s aggressive, it’s right in line with current laws and policies on harassment,” he said. “We’ve never had a student get a third strike.”
Regarding the no-contact order from District Court, he said his jurisdiction is limited.
“I can’t exclude anyone from public school because of a contact order,” he said.
“Your policy is great,” Gienapp responded. “Your lip service is great. But it’s the action I’m not seeing. What do I have to do to make sure my kid’s safe?”
She then said that removing a kid for a no-contact order is indeed an option and questioned Arlt’s policy again.
“They’re walking out your office laughing at you,” she said.
Board member Jennifer Hauser then thanked Gienapp for coming and sharing her concern.
“We hear you. We hear you,” Hauser said, noting that there was nothing the board could do to address the case that night. “But we totally appreciate you coming and talking to us,” she said.
“I just want you to be aware,” Gienapp responded. “The kids that were doing this are still in your school system.”
Police response
The investigation into Gienapp’s claims proved contradictory, according to the Colfax Police Department.
“She wasn’t happy with the services we provided,” said Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay, noting that Colfax police patrolled the bus stop and contacted the children and bus drivers involved. “We investigated every one of her complaints and none were verified. Her child was just as much to blame as the others. There was nothing we considered bullying.”
Nonetheless, the chief said the department was happy to look into the matter when Gienapp called them, unsatisfied with the response she got from the school.
“We try to encourage parents to at least let us know about (bullying),” said McNannay. “Our ultimate goal is to have a school resource officer in the schools. For now the school is handling these, which is who a parent should contact first. Or just call us and we can advise on that too. We don’t want to discourage anyone from calling the police department.”
The chief noted that one practice the department has used in the past to help on similar disputes is to have an officer park near the bus stop in question.
“Usually our presence solves it,” he said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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