Parents raise bullying concerns in Wayne County

WAYNE COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) - Glynese Harris and Titeshia Loper are two moms with claims that their children are being bullied at their school in Buckatunna.

For Harris, she says this has happened to her child repeatedly.

“In between August and September, I think I went to the school four times,” said Harris.

According to Harris, the incidents began last August, causing her child to have concerns heading into a new year.

“Starting her third-grade year, I probably called the school twice,” Harris said. “My child was being bullied so bad to the fact that she didn’t want to start school in August.”

Harris said that this year, the incidents turned from verbal to physical.

“A little girl punched her three times,” Harris said. “Each time the girl punched her, she told her, ‘Get back. Don’t hit me no more. Get back.’ So, she got tired. She turned and punched her in the nose.”

Harris claims that her child was then unfairly punished, having to miss extracurricular activities while the other child was let go.

Harris is not alone.

Titesha Loper claims her child was paddled by a teacher to the point where his hands were bruised. Shortly after, she went to the school to see the video.

“And, on the video, you can tell that she was angry the way that she was hitting him,” said Loper. “It wasn’t a paddling. It was like she was basically beating him.”

Both parents have made complaints to the school district.

While Superintendent Tommy Branch could not speak about their specific complaints, he said there are measures in place to prevent these things from happening.

“We have a bullying policy separate from everything else that we go through every time one is reported,” said Branch. “We have speakers come in. We have behavioral specialists on every campus.

That’s something that they do. If you have someone that is a bully, they’re going to see them.”

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