LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Families of students at Columbia School District say their children have been bullied there and tonight, they’re taking action.
Today, parent Samantha Short stood outside the school to peacefully protest bullying in the schools, holding a sign that said “my child is bullied here.”
“This is how we help our children, this is what we do, as a community we have to come together. We got to show our children what it’s like to not bully— if we’re not teaching and leading them, who are they following?”
Just last Thursday, Short met with school officials and informed them she’d be standing outside Columbia High School with a sign.
She told me parents were waving and children were coming up to hug her, but the district was not pleased.
“When the school saw the sign, she walked up to me and said, ‘Mrs. Short, I’ve called the cops on you’ and walked away. I issued no response to her because I was here for a peaceful protest to let them know what’s happening to my child,” Short explained.
Since Short’s peaceful protest this morning, dozens of other parents in the district have come forward about other instances of alleged bullying.
Some say they’ve gone as far as to move their kids out of the schools to online learning.
“As of right now, as a parent, I am absolutely horrified to send my kids to school there,” said Harold Rote, a parent no longer within the school district.
Angel Albring, another former Columbia parent, said she also moved her child to another district.
“I made teachers aware of this, I made the guidance counselor, I talked to the assistant principal, I tried talked to the principal— it wasn’t until I had quit my job and moved my kids to homeschooling that she actually gave me a call,” said Albring, who had three children in elementary school.
Short told me allegations of bullying involving her child focused on verbal abuse, including one instance where she claims a racial slur was used.
The bullying reportedly had been circulating through the entire district, including the middle and elementary schools.
CBS 21 reached out to the district’s superintendent for comment, but they have not responded yet.
“Please, Columbia Borough School District, do better for our children. The bullying has got to stop,” said Short.
Short told me her and other parents are planning to peacefully protest for their children this Wednesday.
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