Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Wellbeing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Eighth-grader tells Granville board bullying persists and urges mental-health supports after school closure
Summary
Lucas Snider, an eighth grader, told the board he had been bullied and described alleged incidents at Ramble Central Middle and trauma from Wilton Elementary's closure; he urged the board to prioritize mental-health supports and accountability and offered his nonprofit as a partner.
A student told the Granville County Board of Education on April 14 that bullying and the effects of a recent school closure are creating trauma and leaving some children without essential supports.
"I am here for the children who are losing their way in the same halls I grew up in," eighth grader Lucas Snder said during the public-comment period. He described past severe bullying that led him to consider suicide when he was younger and credited a helping adult for supporting him through those moments. He said similar support is missing now for some students.
Snider described reports he said the district had received of students being threatened, sensory-assistance items taken and destroyed, and staff allegedly physically restraining students and "hitting children with pool noodles." He said parents who brought video or photo evidence to school administrators were told "nothing can be done," and that in some cases victims were disciplined rather than the alleged aggressors.
Snider also raised concern about Wilton Elementary’s closure, which displaced about 300 children and, he said, undermined a specialized pre-K support system. "This isn't just about moving desks. It's about the trauma of displacing 300 children," he told the board, and urged investment in mental-health services.
He closed by announcing his organization, Helping Hand, and offering to work with the district "to implement ... accountability that catch[es] these kids before they fall through the cracks." Board procedure prohibits responses during public comment except to request clarifications; the board thanked him for speaking.
What officials told the board earlier
Earlier in the meeting the superintendent noted a separate security issue: a hoax active-shooter threat to J.F. Webb High School made from a burner phone. The superintendent said district and sheriff's investigators "have identified the individual who made the threat" and "they will face criminal charges and the student code of conduct will be strictly enforced." That update addressed a different safety incident than the student’s public comment but framed the evening’s safety discussion.
What the board may do next
The public record shows the board received the student’s comments and did not respond during public comment. The matter raised involves alleged student misconduct and personnel or disciplinary responses that, according to board policy read at the start of public comment, may require confidential handling; parents were directed to personnel and grievance policies when concerns about individual staff or students are raised.
