Published: March 19, 2008 09:13 pm            

‘Productive discussion’

Board, parents make progress on PSHS solution

PRINCETON, W.Va. — Protesters continued picketing Wednesday near Princeton Senior High School to highlight their fears about alleged racial incidents, but parents, school administrators and board of education members hope to address those concerns soon.

Greg Prudich, president of the Mercer County Board of Education, said he had a “productive discussion” with Sean Harris of Princeton, a parent who said his daughter has been subjected to harassment and assaults due to race. Harris and other protesters have been demonstrating since Monday.

Harris, 35, of Princeton said he felt progress had been made during his talk with Prudich Wednesday.

“I think we broke ground as far as a solution to the problem,” Harris said. “I think we’re working in a direction with the board and administrators to fixing the problem at Princeton Senior High School. This is not about me or him or the parents, it’s about our kids. In order to solve this problem we have to work together.”

In a citizens input session Tuesday during the board of education’s regular monthly meeting, Harris and other parents said they felt the school system had not been sufficiently following its guidelines for addressing harassment based on race, gender and other differences.

“In order to get cured of a disease, you have to first recognize what the disease is,” Harris said. “They’ve got to admit there is a problem. All these people keep coming forward.”

Parents speaking at Tuesday evening’s board meeting said only a small number of students are causing problems.

“We’re not saying that Princeton Senior High as a whole is racist, we’re saying there is a racial problem at Princeton Senior High School,” Harris said. “We just want them to admit there’s a problem in the school whether big or small. I personally believe it is about 15 or 20 students. By being that small, they should be able to nip it in the bud. If there’s a lemon pie and a piece of that lemon pie is rotten, it’s still bad.”

Prudich said Wednesday that the school system uses its policies to check reports of harassment. Due to privacy regulations, school personnel cannot reveal the names of students who have been reprimanded.

“We have harassment policies and they are followed. We deal with the children, but if there’s a violation, we can’t publish it,” Prudich said. “It’s not something for the media or the general public. We can’t say we expelled anyone.”

The concerns stated by parents who believe their children have been harassed due to race are being addressed, he said.

“We’re not going to ignore their complaints. We’re going to investigate them fairly and make a decision based on what we find out,” Prudich said.

Prudich said a statement he made Tuesday comparing the situation at PSHS to witch hunts was not aimed at specific people.

“People have advised me that they felt that that comment about the Salem Witch Hunt was directed at individuals,” he said. “Actually, it was directed at the video media because I felt they were painting it with a pretty broad brush.”

A date for a meeting between school officials and parents should be set after the school system’s spring break, Prudich said.

Principal Dr. Stephen Akers said attendance was at normal levels Wednesday.

“Typically we have 9 to 10 percent [of the student body] out, and we’re right at 10 percent today,” he said.



Greg Jordan writes for the Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph.

        

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