Easton parent urges district action after months of alleged bullying and a voicemail death threat

A mother of a sixth-grader at Easton Area Middle School told the school board at its Jan. meeting that her daughter has endured repeated bullying, physical assaults and threatening messages over six months and that she has filed police reports and sought district intervention.

"My daughter's anxious. I'm scared to drop her off at school," Mary Anne Sofroni said during five minutes of public comment, listing incidents she says occurred on buses and in school and saying she had alerted administrators and filed police reports.

Sofroni described multiple episodes she said took place beginning in August 2025, including students hitting her daughter with water bottles, throwing a pack of pencils at her head and swinging a backpack into her back. She said earlier school-bus seat reassignments were promised after incidents on Oct. 9 and Oct. 17 but were not implemented until Oct. 20. She said students sent harassing text messages and that classmates used her daughter’s phone to call 911 without permission.

She played or summarized a voicemail she said contained a death threat directed at her daughter: according to Sofroni, the message stated, "I'm gonna kill you," and she said that second police report was filed after that voicemail was received.

Sofroni told the board she had asked for a safety plan and that the board subsequently sent multiple copies of safety plans, but she said those plans were not implemented in a timely way after meetings with school staff. "According to the code of conduct, Juliet has been the victim of level 3 and 4 infractions," she said, listing bullying, cyberbullying, false reports, intimidation, vandalism and threats; she said the consequences for such actions may include suspension, referral to the board for expulsion and reports to police or child-welfare authorities.

In her remarks she criticized how staff and some building administrators responded and urged stronger enforcement of the district's code of conduct. The transcript records the commenter saying she reached out to the superintendent and assistant multiple times and felt ignored.

Board members did not take immediate visible action during public comment; the meeting proceeded with the remainder of the agenda. The district's superintendent earlier in the meeting summarized safety- and legal-related communications required under new state law (Act 44) and said the district posts an FAQ and will consult legal counsel on ambiguous cases, but no board motion or formal remedy specific to Sofroni’s complaint was put on the record at the meeting.

Next steps: Sofroni said she has filed police reports; she also said she notified principals and security staff. The board is scheduled to continue standing committee work and to hold an Act 34 hearing on the school construction project next week. The record does not show a follow-up item or a board vote addressing Sofroni’s allegations during this session.