A fight at Pleasantville Middle School that ended with a girl stabbed was a culmination of months where the district provided no help, the parents of the girls involved claim.
The two 13-year-old girls were good friends at one point, the parents agree. But when things broke down and alleged bullying and harassment began, the district allegedly ignored their concerns.
But that is not true, according to Board of Education President Jerome Page, who said acting Superintendent Karin Farkas has been on top of everything.
"Unfortunately, now it is a police matter," he said.
The victim was already on suspension when she went to the school March 3 to get her work, according to her mother. That's when the altercation happened.
"I've been working since Day 1 on this problem," said the father of the girl accused in the stabbing.
BreakingAC is not identifying any of the parents involved so as to protect the identities of their children.
The father does not deny his daughter had a knife or that he injured her former friend, although he insists it was accidental.
But, he said there was a lot leading up to the incident, including an attack on his daughter by the stabbing victim.
He said he had been going to the school for months to report the issues.
The father provided BreakingAC with video showing his daughter walking home while the other girl is walking next to her. After a short time, his daughter is punched in the head and then taken to the ground as the two tussle. Eventually, the aggressor gets up and walks away, leaving the other girl on the ground.
The two made up after that, the other girl's mother told BreakingAC.
She says she also went to the district about the issue, and nothing was done.
The father of the other girl said this was news to him.
"If this happened, why am I just hearing about this on the internet?" he asked.
Both agree the district made no attempts to get the families together to rectify the issue.
They are not the only ones insisting the district turns a blind eye to safety issues.
Another father said his 12-year-old son was jumped and beaten at the Middle School.
He was never notified by the school, he said.
"Not one time did anyone pick up a phone and call me or his mother to tell us about the incident," he said. "Instead their reasoning for not doing so was because the issue was still being investigated. Yet my son was injured in the incident and I should have been contacted."
He has now removed his son from the district.
"My kids are honor roll students and can't even concentrate on what's needed to be done at school cause they have a bigger issue in making sure they're safe," he said.
"My son could have went home and gone to sleep and died from his injuries," the father said. "He was complaining of headaches after it happened. But because he was so afraid, he never told anyone what happened until the day after."
Page said it was the first he heard of that incident, but would look into it.
Several community members brought their concerns to the Board of Education at this week's meeting. The acting superintendent has not returned calls seeking comment on these issues.
Parents alleging harassment and bullying also said they were not offered a HIB report to fill out. The forms, which stand for Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying, are part of the state's Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.
The district's website does include information as well as a list of the "Anti-Bullying Team."
Despite that, the father of the beaten student said he was never referred to anyone.
A rally is planned for April 12 to bring attention to the issue.
"Come out and fight for your children," the flyer states.
The rally begins 4 p.m. at City Hall, and ends at the High School flag pole.
But Page alleges the rally is not about the students, but a move by two board members to get the suspended superintendent re-instated.
Brother and sister board members Julio and Elysa Sanchez have been supporters of Superintendent Nataki Chestnut-Lee, who was put on paid administrative leave in October, pending the outcome of an investigation into several questions that have been raised about the school district’s leader.
