Parents to demand Edgar schools address bullying

EDGAR — A group of Edgar parents is staging a mass demonstration at Monday's school board meeting to demand that the district acknowledge a growing bullying problem within the schools and adopt policies to address it.

About 50 parents plan to attend the annual Edgar School Board meeting Monday to propose solutions so that bullying doesn't result in the death of another student, said Linda Michalewicz, an Edgar mother of three who is organizing the effort.

The extent and toll of bullying among children has been brought to the fore of the community since the May suicide of 16-year-old Jonathan Wesener. His family has attributed his death to relentless bullying by members of his high school football teammates and other students at Edgar High School.

"I knew Jon and my heart breaks for his parents. If someone doesn't speak up for these kids, we will lose another child," Michalewicz said. "I have a big mouth and I'm going to use it to stop this. If we can prevent the death of another child at our school or any area school, we will have done something."

Following the death of Wesener, school officials vowed to review the district's bullying policies and try to learn from the tragedy. But some parents feel that pledge isn't enough.

Cari Guden, Edgar School District administrator, said parents will be offered a chance to speak at the end of the school board's annual meeting. What they say will help inform a conversation among school leaders about if and when to review the bullying policy at a future school board meeting, Guden said.

Parents on Monday will demand more: that school officials be held accountable immediately for enforcing the district's bullying policies, Michalewicz said.

Bullying policies must be enforced

Michalewicz said Jonathan's death is far from the first time bullying has gotten out of hand in Edgar.

"One of my sons was bullied and I told the administration. ... but nothing happened. ... They said they don't tolerate bullying. Those are just words, nothing is done to stop it," Michalewicz said.

She said her other son and his friends provided "a circle" of protection and eventually those who were bullying her son, who was teased and taunted for being smart and not being interested in sports, stopped. The son who was bullied "is a sweet boy and I am so proud of him. He has come out from the shadow of bullying," she said.

But the bullying will not end until the entire atmosphere and approach within the Edgar schools changes, said other parents.

"The school creates the culture of bullying," said Daniel Grondin, who said he transferred his son to a different high school when the bullying his son suffered at Edgar middle and high schools wasn't addressed by officials.

"One of the things my wife and I have noticed is everything is centered on sports in Edgar," Grondin said. "How can bullying be controlled when Edgar routinely runs up the scores at football games? Football in Edgar is a culture, and bullying goes with it."

Student athletes are held to a different standard than other students and allowed to taunt, abuse and harass other students, Grondin said.

"It's a joke. This kid (a student athlete) is hitting my son, calling him names and my son is told to sit down and be quiet," Grondin said. While Grondin isn't part of Michalewicz's contingent, he supports their mission to change the district's bullying policy and enforcement measures.

"I'll be there Monday night. I don't know if I'll have an opportunity to speak or not. I hope they listen ... and it's not all talk and no walk," Grondin said.

School response

Guden said she could not comment on Grondin's bullying allegations and could not provide statistics on how many students had reported being bullied during the 2014-2015 school year.

But she did say that parents will have a chance to speak their minds Monday.

Though the meeting is scheduled from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., it will continue until district residents who want to have had the opportunity to speak, Guden said. Each will be given up to three minutes to talk, and the meeting will be held in the school library, which can accommodate a group of about 100 people, Guden said.

"It's good that the public is coming and wants to discuss this. This is a topic which concerns all of us," she said. "We are not 100 percent perfect and, every day, we look at ways we could improve."

Some parents say ways to improve are clear: In addition to creating a strong enforceable bullying policy, the district also needs to make resources and information about recognizing bullying, and strategies to help a child cope, more readily available to parents, Michalewicz said.

"We can't stop it everywhere. Bullying is at every school. But we can make a difference to help kids and we can start at our school," she said.

Since Jonathan Wesener's death, Edgar parents are sharing with the Wesener family and each other what is happening to their children and more people are learning about the extent of the bullying, Steve Wesener told the News-Herald in an earlier interview.

"We are determined to not stop until this is changed. When we get the Edgar (school bullying) policy changed, I want to take this to the state school superintendent so that the Edgar policy becomes the statewide model for bullying policies," he said.

"I don't want another parent to go through what I have gone through," said Wesener, who intends to be at the meeting Monday to join the chorus demanding changes.

Bullying wasn't reported

School officials said they are tremendously sympathetic to the Weseners and their grief, but also that they were unaware Jonathan was being bullied because neither he nor his family ever reported it.

"This tragic event has left many unanswered questions. As administrators and teachers we must now self-reflect to examine how we can build upon the supportive environment which we've created," Guden said.

Edgar High School football coach Jerry Sinz said he likewise was unaware that Jonathan was being bullied by teammates.

Bullying is not tolerated or condoned among the football team, he said. "I never witnessed anything (in the locker room)," he said.

Parents have had enough of the platitudes from school officials and are expecting the school board to take action, said Michalewicz.

"This is about our children. We are not going to let this rest. Something has to change," she said.

Reporter Liz Welter can be reached at 715-384-3131, or by email at lwelter@newsheraldmedia.com. Find her on Twitter as @welter_liz.

If you go

What: Edgar School Board annual meeting

When: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday

Where: Edgar High School Library

For more information: Call the district office at 715-352-2352 or check the website at www.edgar.k12.wi.us

For help

If you or someone you know needs help:

•Call the National suicide preventionlifeline at 800-273-8255

•Text the state Hopeline at 741741

•Check the website for Prevent Suicide Wisconsin at www.preventsuicidewi.org or the website for Mental Health America of Wisconsin at www.mhawisconsin.org

Source: Prevent Suicide Marathon County

Join the conversation and follow our coverage

Gannett Central Wisconsin Media reporters will attend Monday's Edgar School Board to cover parents speaking about bullying. Reporters Jonathan Anderson, a public investigations reporter, and Liz Welter, a children and families reporter, will be live tweeting from the meeting. Use the hashtag #EdgarBullying to follow the coverage and to join the conversation.

You also can view the live tweeting on the websites marshfieldnewsherald.com and wausaudailyherald.com