Parent urges Swain County Schools to seek outside investigation into alleged student 'fight club'
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Summary
A local parent urged the Swain County Schools board to commission an independent investigation after alleging students organized repeated fights, citing videos and chat logs and saying his nephew was injured; the board did not immediately open an investigation during the meeting.
A parent told the Swain County Schools Board of Education that videos and chat messages show students organizing repeated fights and urged the board to authorize an outside investigation to ensure transparency and student safety.
"I am calling tonight for a full investigation into the matter," Aaron Millard told the board, saying he had seen videos and rules written by students and that his nephew was among those injured. Millard said the evidence included multiple videos and text-message threads and said an internal review by the district would present a conflict of interest.
Millard asked the board to make the probe public and to consider contracting an outside entity to conduct the work, saying families deserve transparency and accountability. He said he had provided copies of the messages to the board and offered to share videos if needed, while noting the sensitivity because the students are minors.
The board acknowledged the comment during the public-comment period; no immediate investigative action or vote was taken in the meeting. Board members did not make a public commitment on a next step during the floor comments.
Next steps: the board moved on to its agenda items after public comment. Millard said he is available for follow-up and provided contact information to board members.
