Parents, researchers and students press district on harassment reporting and coaches' suspensions

Several community members urged the Peninsula School District Board on Feb. 25 to strengthen harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) data collection and to take clearer action to protect marginalized students; the board also heard a student defend three suspended coaches and complain about information released outside formal channels.

Christy (Christie) Walhalla, a parent and community member, thanked the district for recognizing Black History Month but said recognition must be accompanied by concrete protections. "These students deserve more than just words," she said, and urged the district to "take timely concrete steps to address and prevent harassment, bullying, and intimidation of black and marginalized students."

Chris Doherty, a parent, read several incidents reported to the district’s HIB compliance officer between September and January of the school year, including repeated racial slurs and a reported physical assault using a cord. Doherty urged the district to adopt a zero‑tolerance stance and warned that national rhetoric was making local tolerance for slurs more lenient.

Dr. Anne Genad, a social scientist who reviewed 255 HIB reports the district provided following public records requests, told the board the data appear incomplete and inconsistent. She said three of 17 schools had zero HIB reports over the prior decade in the dataset she examined, and many incidents that received regional news coverage did not appear in the files. "These gaps need to be substantively addressed through the HIB audit," she said, adding that black students — who make up less than 1% of the district population — were disproportionately represented in the racist incident reports in the records she reviewed.

Student speaker Finley Wyman, a senior and ASB executive from Gig Harbor High School, spoke in support of three coaches (named in comments as Tim Olsen, Nikki Martin and James Vinicci) who had been placed on disciplinary leave. Wyman said the disciplinary action harmed team morale and raised due‑process concerns: "In America, innocent until proven guilty is a due process right under the Fifth Amendment," Wyman said. She asked why details were released to media sources after team members were advised to remain silent and urged the district to protect employees’ privacy while handling investigations.

Board policy 1,400 (Meeting Conduct/Order of Business) and the district’s HIB reporting procedures frame public comment and complaint processes. Directors did not take policy action during the public comment period but heard the speakers and noted the items for follow up; Dr. Anne Genad offered to provide best‑practice recommendations for data collection and auditing.

The public comments underscored community demand for clearer HIB tracking, consistent incident recording across schools and careful handling of personnel investigations.