By Jonann Brady
School officials said they are legally prohibited from commenting on cases involving indivdual students. The Herald also contacted the police, who were unable to comment on the case because it has been sealed.
During the public comment portion of the Dec. 10 meeting, a Baldwin parent, Mena Scavo, asked the board about recent bomb threats at the middle school and high school.
"Are you handling [the cases] individually? Do our children have rights?" asked Scavo.
Superintendent Kathy Weiss said that there have been three bomb threat incidences this school year, all of which the district takes very seriously. In each case, she said, the school contacts the police, who decide if an arrest is warranted.
As for school discipline, a principal can suspend a student for five days, but for any suspension beyond that time, a superintendent's hearing must be held.
"It's [the superintendant's hearing] run like a little courtroom," said Weiss. "Punishment is based on the act and the child's history."
Both the police and the school conduct investigations, but it is a police decision if a child will have to appear in criminal court, said Weiss.
Then a man in the back of the room called out, "Why would you choose to move ahead when the police don't?"
The man identified himself as Phil Bissett and said that his 12-year-old daughter, Danielle, had been accused of carving a threat on a middle-school desk. Danielle sat in the front of the room with her mother, Susan, and a brother.
"I am extremely disappointed in the reaction I've gotten [from the school]. It seems like no one knows our children or know who we are," said Bissett at the meeting, referring to the fact that Danielle is an "A" student who gets along well with her peers and teachers. He also noted that Danielle has three older siblings who are well-known in the school system.
From the front of the room, Susan Bissett said, "What are the rights of the child?"
Mary Jo O'Hagan, school board president, said, "This becomes very uncomfortable when we discuss an individual child in public."
The Bissetts continued to question the board. "It happened to my child. It could happen to any child here. You're supposed to be helping and protecting our children, but you're hurting them," said Mrs. Bissett.
After more back and forth, O'Hagan said, "We cannot continue this discussion."
In an interview with the Bissetts after the meeting, they said that the threat was found on Nov. 7 on a desk where Danielle sat. The message, they say, stated that a bomb would be blown up at the school on Nov. 16, which happened to be Danielle's twelfth birthday.
The Bissetts claim that Danielle was called to the office and questioned by James Brown, the principal, and three other school
administrators. When the Bissetts arrived at the school later, they said that they found Danielle outside the office crying.
[During the meeting, Mrs. Bissett asked the board, "What are the child's rights? Aren't they allowed to call their mommy and daddy?"
Weiss replied that the school acts "in loco parentis" (in the place of parents) and could question a child without the parents present.]
The police were called to investigate, and according to the Bissetts, Danielle was arrested within the next week.
Because the case surrounding this threat was sealed, the police could not confirm these details.
Danielle has denied writing the threat to both the police and school officials, said her parents, but she was suspended from school for five days based on the investigation, which her parents say included a handwriting analysis.
A superintendent's hearing was scheduled for Nov. 30 to determine further disciplinary action, but the Bissetts said that because they hired a lawyer, the hearing date was postponed in order to accommodate their lawyer and the school district's attorney, who is called whenever a student's lawyer is present.
The Bissetts also said that Danielle appeared before a probation officer in Family Court, who dismissed the case.
In phone calls to Dr. Weiss and O'Hagan, both said that the district was legally unable to comment on individual students.
"These are really difficult situations," said O'Hagan. "We are totally precluded from discussing students or employees in public. There is no way for us to respond to anything."
A few parents approached the Bissetts after the meeting to offer sympathy. Two parents addressed the Bissetts' situation during the meeting.
One parent, Barbara McVeigh, said to the board, "I'm appalled at this situation. I'm horrified; my child comes home about this little girl. She's worried it's going to happen to her."
The Bissetts say they are unsure what their next step will be, but they are pursuing the case with an attorney.
Danielle, who is currently being tutored at home, said she is ready to return to school, clear her name and get back to normal.
"I want to go back to school and make a speech on the announcements," she said.
