Threats, bullying at Lidgerwood Elementary have parents concerned

SPOKANE, Wash. — Parents are worried about the safety and well-being of their students at Lidgerwood Elementary after threats were made by another student, at a level above typical bullying.

“They are violent and disgusting and should raise concerns,” said Setira Dawson.

Her fourth grade daughter is one of several students that had threats made against them.

One parent had their daughter write the threats down so that they could alert the school administration. The threats made included rape, murdering family members, tying them to a chair, killing students, painting a room with their blood.

Dawson says the school administration took three days to take the threat-making student out of her daughter’s class. She said it was a start, but it shouldn’t have taken that long. Meantime her daughter has been suffering from anxiety, fears for her life, and isn’t sleeping well. The mother says the only place she feels safe is home and doesn’t want to go to school.

Dawson also says she wants to know that more has been done and doesn’t feel like she is being kept informed.

“I’m angry that the school has done very minimal and they are only being reactive, not proactive,” said Dawson.

KXLY reached out to Spokane Public Schools for comment. Spokesman Kevin Morrison says they are taking the incident seriously and must account for the safety of all students. He says the district has no fewer than eight employees looking into the incident and a full investigation is underway. He says a safety plan is in place and has been since they were made aware of concerns.

Morrison says he understands the frustration parents may feel if it looks like things have stalled, but he says federal and district privacy policies prevent them from passing along details about the safety plan. He also says the investigation can take some time as they are required to get parental permission before interviewing witnesses.

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