Parent with school safety concerns: 'I feel like our priorities are way off'

Parents and community members voiced their concerns about safety in Wichita Falls ISD schools during a sometimes heated discussion for more than an hour Monday morning at the Education Center.

Parents talked frankly of their concerns about everything from traffic safety, to the number of police officers on campuses to the handling of incidents at schools, including McNiel Middle School.

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A McNiel parent who said her daughter was attacked at school was guardedly hopeful afterward.

"We're looking for change," Jennifer McKee said outside the Education Center. "I think it may be a start. I'm not real sure. We'll just have to see where things go."

Acting Superintendent Debbie Dipprey held the discussion for over an hour.

It was an unusual move Dipprey made in response to some parents who attempted to pose questions during Monday morning's public meeting of the WFISD Security and Safety Committee.

School safety has come to the forefront after an incident involving McKee's daughter, an April 20 incident in which a teacher was allegedly assaulted by students, and a rumor that a student was going to shoot up the school Friday — all at McNiel.

Most student disciplinary cases take place during the difficult middle school years, according to district officials.

Dipprey said Monday's discussion with parents was the first step in dealing with the concerns.

"You've given us a lot to think about. Please be patient with us as we work through this," she said.

McKee was vocal during the discussion.

"I feel like our priorities are way off," she said, referring to plans for metal detectors at middle and high schools.

McKee said the priorities should be to stop a student from "being hit from behind and taken to the ground while the rest of the kids are cheering it on."

After the meeting, McKee said her daughter was assaulted in a planned attack March 3 in a back hallway at McNiel.

Her child was left with stomp marks on her face, and the attack was caught on video, McKee said.

"She punched her in the face repeatedly," McKee said after Monday's discussion. "She was knocked unconscious for a minute. . . . There were several students cheering it on, videoing it."

McKee said her daughter, now a homebound student who has a teacher only four hours a week, is fearful and anxious. She began staying home after a perpetrator returned to McNiel after two weeks.

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During the discussion with school officials, McKee said she is still seeking satisfactory answers about charges related to the attack.

WFISD Police Chief Lahoma Vaughn said she would talk to McKee about those issues after the discussion was over.

In yet another change at the district, Vaughn recently got the WFISD Police Department up and running.

She told parents the district started a new approach by having student resource officers on campus instead of officers from local agencies working part-time during their off-duty hours.

Each campus has one student resource officer assigned except for Rider High School, which has two, Vaughn said.

Some parents present said they did not think that was enough.

Vaughn said the National Association of School Resource Officers recommends one SRO per 1,000 students. Some WFISD's campuses don't have 1,000 students, but they still have an officer.

The SRO's job includes building relationships with students, and she doesn't want the students to be afraid of her officers, she said.

The discussion was at times heated, but Dipprey served as a calming presence as Vaughn and other officials sought to clear up possible misconceptions.

Dipprey said WFISD must follow very specific state law about how to treat students in disciplinary matters.

In addition, it can be difficult to discern whether an incident is an assault or mutual combat.

Some parents also expressed support of administrators and teachers, saying they want them to be successful.

About 25 parents and community members attended the meeting and stayed afterward to ask questions and hear from Dipprey, Vaughn, and in another impromptu move, Wichita County Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Kirk Wolfe.

He gave parents a quick primer on how the juvenile justice system works and the role of the Juvenile Probation Department.

"It's alarming what's going on in our school district," Wolfe said. "It's not a negative reflection on WFISD. It's a negative reflection on our society."

When asking for patience, Dipprey said she is a short-timer as acting superintendent.

"You deserve an experienced, qualified superintendent, and you will have one. I'm not that person," she said.

Dipprey was appointed earlier this month after the School Board accepted the resignation of exiting Superintendent Mike Kuhrt.

She told parents the School Board would begin the search for a superintendent soon.

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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: WFISD Parents air concerns about school safety to superintendent, chief