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| Madayag and Skandalakis (seated at table) before Santa, Thompson and Busse with Williams (standing). |
A press conference convened January 11 at the law offices of Attorney Demetrios John "Mitch" Skandalakis in East Cobb to discuss bullying in Cobb County Schools and a potential lawsuit which could turn into a class action suit.
Skandalakis alleges that the Cobb County School District (CCSD) has not followed state law governing bullying in its practices or reporting of incidents, and it's all about money and daily attendance rates. He was accompanied by parents of CCSD students: Jorge Santa, Sr.; Carol Thompson, and Catherine Busse.
Skandalakis is representing Jorge Santa, Jr., a student at Harrison High School. Jorge Santa, Sr., a Atlanta police detective, said he loves his two sons and since they are small in stature has advised them to defend themselves if attacked.
According to Skandalakis' investigation and eye witness accounts, Jorge, Jr. was bullied last May by two students who called him racial slurs, stole his property from his backpack, and sprayed him with silly string. When Jorge defended himself, he was charged with two felonies which were later dropped after Skandalakis represented Santa.
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| Santa, Sr. is the father of two sons. |
Santa said students have the right to defend themselves and should not face retaliation by bullies, whether they be students or school administrators.
"We have responsibilities as parents. I love my kids and always tell them that if you do the right thing, I will have your back," Santa, Sr. said. He advises parents to become familiar with case law and the legalities of punitive actions when it involves their children's rights and seek out corrective resources. He said his son should not have been criminalized. "Fight for your kids, tooth and nail." Santa, Sr. said parents in a similar circumstance should not fight by themselves, however.
"When you see that your kids who are really good kids go through something like this, and to deal with other kids around the same age group that are constantly in and out of the judicial system, it's heartbreaking. This particular situation was a wake-up call for my son - that you can do the right thing and still get in trouble." Santa, Sr. said he had considered homeschooling his son, but his son said no, he wanted to return to school.
Santa, Sr. said that if other kids witness bullying in school, "Don't be part of the little crowd that just laughs about it, but report it. Take the opportunity to help."
Carol Thompson’s younger son also attends Harrison High School and said the same student who bullied Santa also bullied her son and others. She said the only reason her son is still in school is because he has excellent teachers.
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| Thompson and Busse represented bullied sons at press conference. |
Thompson said two weeks after the Santa incident, one of the bullies shot another student in the face, which could have been avoided if Harrison High's administrators had reacted differently to previously documented incidents.
Catherine Busse's son attended Walton but said since her son was bullied, he has not returned to school because he is afraid. He waited outside the press conference and was accompanied by his father and a service dog. Busse said data on bullying is not reported because the school system thinks it will harm property values.
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| Madayag's photo from Lee and Hayes website |
Madayag identified himself as an intellectual property attorney, and his firm's website states that he received his law degree from Villanova University, a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and he attended the US Navy Nuclear Power School.
When asked if it's wise or financially viable to try to fight the government in court, Madayag responded, "These are kids lives. Kids will commit suicide because of bullying, and bullies can end up going into more criminal actions."
Madayag says these incidents in CCSD are worse than the Atlanta School District's cheating scandal. "A life is more important than anything, so I rank this as a higher issue."
At stake are sovereign immunity, Miranda Rights, Writ of Mandamus, the RICO Act, school codes being at odds with state law, and school safety. The attorneys said that individual school administrators retaliate against students and parents instead of attacking the issue of bullying.
CCSD bullying pamphlet: http://www.cobbk12.org/bully/
Georgia law: http://www.bullypolice.org/ga_law.html
"The district is not protected when they are intentionally falsifying information and declaring a bullying incident 'horseplay,' " Madayag stated.
"The principal simply didn't know what the hell he was talking about or intentionally tried to buffalo Jorge Santa, Sr. into thinking that school code trumped state criminal law," Skandalakis said. He continued that Santa, Sr. knew all about interviewing techniques and tape recorded the conversation he had with the school administrator after the incident.
"The issue has been decided in the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia that you absolutely have the right to stand your ground and defend yourself when you are set upon in a school setting," Skandalakis said. "The principal was jumping to conclusions and not performing an investigation but determining on his own that he was going to be judge, jury and executioner."
"Keep in mind that this is a spearhead case backed up by patterns and practices - a gateway to getting the school district to do the right thing," said President of the Cobb SCLC Dr. Ben Williams. "Please do not think that this is an isolated case... the Board, the school site, the Superintendent are not immune to violations and abuses of their primary responsibilities - to ensure the health and safety of every kid that attends school in that district."
Dr. Williams urged reporters to investigate the matter further and to inform the public of what is happening.
To learn more, go to: https://wingcomwatchdog.blogspot.com/2019/01/bullying-becomes-expanding-problem-for.html
E says: Bullying has become such a problem in all schools. It has always been there but not to the degree it is now. Way back in the dark ages when I taught, for every unkind thing you said about a person, you had to list 10 positive things before you could have recess time. This,believe it or not, usually worked and most times helped to make the bully accept the person he/she was bullying as a friend. When you have to list positive things about a person you do not like, you begin to see them differently. I loved every day I taught, but there is no way I would chose teaching as a career now. I did not spank but my son always said the “look” was worse. I spanked 5 students in 32 years of teaching and cried harder than they did. I think kindness ,respect and love goes a lot farther and usually the bullies are lacking in all of these in their lives. Course today, you can’t hug a student,or give a kiss on the forehead. The teacher would be arrested on sexual charges. I feel so sorry for the students that are bullied and respect the parents that are taking stands for them. Unfortunately for America, the president is making bullies think it is fine as he is setting the example. Unfortunately , the school systems are so restricted in what they can do. Time to get off my high horse . Enjoyed the article. Love to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteK says: Well done.
ReplyDeleteR says: Great article.
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