Parents tell Goshen school board bullying reports have been dismissed; board agrees to research independent investigator

Multiple parents told the Goshen Board of Education on April 7 that bullying complaints at Goshen Middle School and Goshen High School have been repeatedly dismissed and have harmed students’ mental health.

At the meeting’s public participation portion Amanda Ellington said her child has experienced bullying and that the district’s internal “bullying assessment flowchart” contradicts state policy and allows incidents to be classified as “less than bullying.” “This is deliberate indifference to the victims of bullying here at Goshen,” Ellington told the board.

Katie Nussbaum read a letter from a mother saying her sixth‑grade son developed anxiety and panic attacks after repeated harassment and that a request for a schedule change sent to a school administrator went unanswered. Brian and Holly Hoffman said their daughter has been subjected to threats, physical harassment and messages telling her to kill herself; they said they stopped reporting incidents after they saw no effective follow‑up.

Parents asked the board to revise the district’s assessment and reporting practices to align with state requirements and to increase transparency in investigations. One community member suggested hiring an outside, independent investigator or firm to review bullying complaints; the speaker said such firms exist and would remove perceived conflicts of interest in internal reviews.

A board member responded that the suggestion had merit and asked district administrators to research how other districts run independent investigations; the board requested a report back at the next meeting. The board chair or presiding officer also told parents that administration would follow up on the complaints and that the district would consider additional districtwide anti‑bullying education with the PTO and other partners.

Why it matters: parents described repeated incidents that they say were not adequately addressed, and they asked the board to both change reporting tools and to consider contracting outside investigators to ensure impartiality. Board direction to research outside investigators creates a foreseeable next step before any formal change in investigative practice.

What the board did: the board did not adopt a new policy at the April 7 meeting; instead members asked administrators to research independent‑investigator options and report findings at the next meeting so the board can consider a formal vote.

Context and next steps: parents asked for both procedural changes (revising the district’s bullying assessment charts to match state policy) and structural changes (an independent investigator). The superintendent/administration agreed to research independent investigators and to return to the board with options at the next meeting. Parents and community members said they expect concrete outcomes, including timely acknowledgement of complaints and clear investigation timelines.