LANSDALE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — About 30 parents and students rallied outside the North Penn School District Educational Services Center in Lansdale on Tuesday, calling on top district administrators to step down after they say school officials failed to prevent last week’s brutal lunchroom assault.
They say school officials failed to respond to legitimate warnings about the April 17 attack in the Pennbrook Middle School cafeteria. There, a 13-year-old student used a metal Stanley cup to repeatedly bash a 12-year-old in the back of the head. The 12-year-old was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries.
At a school board meeting last week, many parents said their children knew of the planned attack and alerted school administrators beforehand, but they said no action was taken.
“I feel like as a leader, [Superintendent Dr. Todd Bauer] should resign,” said Nicole Brown, the mother of a Pennbrook Middle School student. “Who is protecting our kids? You mishandled all of this from start to finish. … What are you doing to change it? How long do we have to wait?”
Amanda, a North Penn High School student, said conflicting stories are circulating about how long the attack actually lasted.
“The school board had claimed it went on for eight minutes, and it was said to have really gone on for 28. But either way, that shouldn’t have gone on for more than 28 seconds, and they still did nothing about it,” she said.
“What happened was a shock,” said Amanda’s mother, Cathy. “The shock was that the district didn’t try to stop it before it happened. I just don’t understand that. It really blows my mind.”
She said schools should do more to intervene when students are having a conflict.
“I know personally my child was bullied and I emailed them and I didn’t hear back for five days until I got a phone call,” she said of an unrelated incident. “It’s not right.”
KYW Newsradio reached out to Bauer for comment about the calls for his resignation but has not heard back.
The accused teenage attacker is being charged with aggravated assault and related offenses, but more charges could be announced. While in court on Monday, police said the student swung at a sheriff’s deputy with a water jug when the judge announced that the student would be detained.