Student suspended for punching another student gets record expunged by Galesburg board

GALESBURG — A District 205 seventh grade student who violated school rules with “gross disobedience and misconduct by punching another student repeatedly in the head” had their suspension expunged from their record by the District 205 board of education in a 4-2 vote May 2.

The minutes from the board’s special meeting show that board members Courtney Rodriguez, Tera Boettcher, Tianna Cervantez and Maury Lyon voted in favor of expunging the suspension as “the administration’s decision to suspend out of school did not sufficiently address the students’ needs.” 

Board members Rod Scherpe and Rodney Phelps voted against expunging the suspension and board member Pamella Bess-Tabb abstained from the vote. 

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When asked about the board's decision, District 205 Board of Education President Rod Scherpe declined comment, saying via email, “I can’t comment on anything that relates to specific students."

Mother says son's well being 'disregarded'

The mother of the seventh grader who was hit in the head doesn't understand why the board expunged the other students' record. 

"I’m extremely hurt by this decision," said Angie McCarthy. "My son’s well being has been disregarded."

McCarthy said her son, who was seated at a lunchroom table at Churchill Junior High, was hit in the back of the head five times by the other student who was using a closed fist. He didn't fight back. The school did not call the police.

The mother of the student accused of striking the other student declined to comment about the incident to The Register-Mail.

The incident happened Thursday, April 21. The blows concussed McCarthy's son and kept him out of school for two weeks while he went through concussion protocol, McCarthy said, which meant no screens the first week and limited screens thereafter. 

"He couldn’t do homework. He couldn’t learn," she said.

She said the day of the incident, he came home from school and slept eight straight hours. On Sunday afternoon her son watched a movie and then played in a soccer game. The coach messaged that he was dizzy and lying on the ground, she said.

"I thought he was dehydrated. He was getting headaches," McCarthy said. 

In hindsight, McCarthy thinks the movie might have triggered the onset of the concussion symptoms. 

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He visited the doctor on Monday and was directed to stay home from school. Symptoms from a concussion can last a long time, she said.

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Her son was suspended for one day and served that the following school day, Friday. The other student, McCarthy said, was suspended for three days. 

McCarthy said her son was wrong to use bad language in the argument prior to the violence, which is why he was suspended. 

"I don’t care what the reason is, violence is not OK," McCarthy said. "If kids aren’t punished for doing things wrong ... why does it need to be off (the other student's) record? My son’s record will not be expunged."

After her son was diagnosed with a concussion, McCarthy reported the incident to Galesburg police. According to the report, McCarthy wanted the report on file, but did not wish to pursue charges.

An officer spoke with the father of the student accused of hitting McCarthy's son and explained the seriousness of the incident. The officer wrote that the father’s account of the incident was comparable to that supplied by McCarthy and Churchill Principal Nicholas Young.

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According to the report, the students began arguing about a dodgeball game in PE and that argument continued into the lunchroom. One student (McCarthy's son) made a rude comment to the other. The other student told McCarthy's son to say that comment again, and he did. The other student “responded to the male’s location and began to strike him in the head approximately five times" before a staff member separated them. 

District 205 superintendent John Asplund explained the suspension procedure. 

Only school administrators, such as school principals or assistant principals can issue suspension, he said. When a student receives a suspension or expulsion that student or student’s parents are eligible to appeal. 

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Appeal goes through complaint manager, superintendent first

The appeal will first go to District 205’s complaint manager, Tiffany Springer. If the student or parents are not satisfied, the appeal will then go to Asplund. After Asplund, the appeal will go to the board for a vote, which is what happened May 2.

“It’s fairly rare for a suspension to be appealed,” Asplund said.

Asplund said he couldn't speak to how often the board overrules the administration’s disciplinary decisions, as each is on a case by case basis. 

McCarthy and her husband attended the board meeting in which the student's record was considered by the board. She was asked to give the impact the violence had on her son, which she says she did. 

She had qualms about speaking to the newspaper, but felt the board's decision wasn't right.

"It’s something I look forward to forgetting," McCarthy said.

Talbot Fisher contributed to this story.