BETTENDORF, Iowa — Parents and family members of current and former Bettendorf students say they see an escalation of violence at schools in the district, and a mishandling of the incidents by school administrators.
Monday evening, about two dozen people, many clad in blue, gathered at the Bettendorf Middle School parking lot and together marched over to the Bettendorf High School, where the Bettendorf Community School District held its board meeting.
"We need to do more to protect these students. I want to show empathy for the kids that have had to go through that on a daily basis," Jennifer Ruggles, who organized the march, said. "Often these kids are victims and the perpetrators are right back in school."
Jennifer Ruggles said the color blue signified a stance against bullying and a visible front to the board. Her family has experienced the problems first hand with one of her sons. "In February 2018, my son’s car was stolen from the school parking lot by a high school student and totaled. It was a bit of a frightening experience," she recalled.
"I think about these families... Ours was a car, but their kids are getting damaged," she said, referring to accounts she had heard from other families.
Families like Lauri Harsh, who told board members, her now teenage daughter had a horrific experience in 3rd grade.
"She and a female classmate had been touched inappropriatly by two other boys in their class, during story time in the classroom in the presence of a teacher," she said.
"My main concern and reason why I’m here today, I continue to not trust staff or the administration because I was never, not once, notified of this incident with my seven-year-old daughter."
Others agreed there was a lack of communication. Parents say they felt disappointment with the treatment of victims.
"Are you concerned about the victim as much as the perpetrator? Who is the administration trying to protect?" Ruggles asked the board at the meeting.
The board on Monday night appointed a new Interim Superintendent, Dr. Jim Spelhaug, but many parents had left the board meeting by the time he was appointed and spoke. He said he called several parents with grievances following his appointment.
"First and foremost is, our work is difficult work. It’s challenging work. And it’s extremely important work, it’s educating each of them to have a productive future. As I spoke last night, we need to be pulling together, even pulling together," he told News 8 on Tuesday. "If we’re pulling apart, if we’re pulling separately, it’s impossible. So for the good of the children, we have to be able to come together, and work on the issues where we have fallen short and make them better."
He added, "For any instances where we have fallen short, I don’t have an eraser, where I can go and change that. What I can do, is help to make sure that we do not fall short in any manner, moving forward."
He said it would be inappropriate to comment on specific cases involving students, but reiterated that he was there to listen and "communicate, communicate, communicate."
The school district has recently formed a Safety Advisory Committee to address the concerns and come up with recommendations for the board. That committee is seeking volunteers to serve on the committee.