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Parent tells PVUSD board Sandpiper Elementary bullying investigation mishandled, asks for district review
Summary
At the board meeting a parent, Leslie Quinn, said her child has been the target of repeated threats and alleged that the school principal’s handling of the complaint amounted to retaliatory treatment. She asked the board to engage with the family and review how bullying investigations are handled at Sandpiper Elementary.
At the Paradise Valley Unified School District Governing Board meeting, parent Leslie Quinn delivered public comment saying her child has been the victim of repeated bullying at Sandpiper Elementary and that the school’s response has been inadequate.
Quinn said the district's reporting process validated the incidents as bullying and that her son was threatened with harm, including references to knives and guns and a statement that "I know where you live. You better lock your doors." She told the board the principal, identified in her remarks as Mr. Varner, implemented measures she characterized as retaliatory toward her son after the family reported the incidents.
Quinn said one example was a no-contact plan she said was implemented without the family’s agreement and that the principal had required her son to leave games publicly, which she described as humiliating. She also said the father of the alleged bully was approved to chaperone an overnight field trip while her family’s request that her son have an accompanying guardian was denied.
Quinn told trustees she and her husband followed the school-level process and later escalated the case to district staff in early September, but that emails and calls went unanswered. "When emails go unanswered and phone calls are not returned, the lack of action speaks volumes," she said. Quinn asked the board to engage with the family to resolve their situation and to "reevaluate the approach to bullying investigations and outcomes, including investigating the current handling of bullying cases at Sandpiper."
Board president Greenberg acknowledged the comment and directed Quinn to remain after the meeting so district staff could speak with her. The board did not discuss the substance of the complaint during the public comment period; the district noted at the start of the session that, under Arizona open meeting law, the board may listen but cannot respond or take action on items raised during call to the public, though staff may be directed to follow up.
