St. Charles mom alleges D-303 fumbled safety request after attack on son

ST. CHARLES – The mother of a St. Charles East High School student alleged that St. Charles School District 303 mishandled a safety request for surveillance cameras after her freshman son was attacked by two junior students.

Parent Kate Bell requested that cameras be placed inside East’s field house as a deterrent to what happened to her son on March 22, 2017 – and as a way to document any future incidents.

Bell also asked the district for a public statement regarding the incident and its response; additional staffing for increased supervision; and an educational program for students and staff on preventing a similar incident from occurring.

Bell said she was especially incensed that it took seven months for security cameras to be installed.

“I am the parent of an East student who was the victim of a violent and deviant bullying incident that took place last spring,” Bell said at a school board meeting Oct. 10.

“It has been nearly seven months since the incident and no cameras have been installed. … Due to the total lack of progress to date, and the conflicting explanations we’ve been given, we needed to take the next step in the D-303 chain of command and are asking for help from the board.”

Bell said she repeatedly called, sent emails and spoke to various school officials in person during that time before she finally spoke out at the school board meeting.

District records show installation of the cameras began Oct. 27 and were completed Oct. 31.

‘A violent and deviant’ attack

The two students who allegedly attacked Kate Bell’s son are facing felony and misdemeanor charges at the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center.

Student A faces two counts of felony aggravated battery and public indecency and a misdemeanor charge of battery.

Student B faces a felony charge of mob action and misdemeanor charges of battery and disorderly conduct.

The Kane County Chronicle is not naming any of the boys involved because of their ages.

According to a written statement from Bell’s son to school officials and police, the incident occurred when students were going to have their track team pictures taken and everyone was in the hallway.

Students A and B “proceeded to pull their testicles out of their pants and hung them over the top of their waistband,” according to the statement.

“They laughed and were swinging them at people. This was making me very uncomfortable and I proceeded to ask them to stop,” according to the boy’s statement. “They swung them at me and laughed at my discomfort. They put their genitalia away and started to shove me. I asked them to stop. They pushed me, and I pushed them back.”

“I turned away as they pulled out their testicles again,” according to the statement.

Bell’s son was among the students who walked to the stands as pictures were taken, and then went back to the field house to wait for head shots, he wrote.

“They showed up at the field house and walked up with their testicles hanging out of their waistline. I asked them to stop and [Student A] shoved me. He continued to shove me and so I shoved him back. He squared up to me and got up in my face,” according to a statement provided to school officials and police written by Bell’s son.

Bell’s son wrote that he was feeing “very unsafe” and that he “struck out” at the other boy.

“He responded by a punch to the chest. [Student A] drove his heel into my back, and I fell to the ground. This is where I sprained/strained my lower spine. I got up and tried to back away. He grabbed me and pummeled me in the chest, back, stomach and arms. He lifted me in the air and threw me onto the ground,” Bell’s son wrote.

“I landed on the concrete and this is where I broke my left thumb and my right wrist. I stood up and walked away as [Student A] backed off,” he wrote.

According to the school district’s investigative report on its response to the incident, Bell’s son was collecting his belongings when Students A and B approached him.

“Student B allegedly picked [Bell’s son] up and threw him down at Student A’s feet,” the report stated.

According to Bell’s son’s written statement, Student A “thrust me down on the ground, restrained me by the neck and arms and dry humped me,” with Student A’s exposed groin.

Bell’s son wrote that he went to sit down and collect himself when Student B exposed his buttocks and made a vulgar comment to him, according to his statement.

“I went and changed my clothes, called my mom and excused myself from practice,” he wrote.

“We also really need cameras in the field house,” Bell’s son wrote in a separate written statement.

“If they had been in place, this boy would not have done what he did if he knew he was being recorded,” he wrote.

Grievance and investigative report

After Bell’s complaint at the Oct. 10 school board meeting – and her request to meet with them privately – officials told her to file a grievance, as per the district’s board policy Uniform Grievance Procedure.

The procedure relies on outside counsel to hear concerns, gather the facts, mediate a possible solution and provide a written report, according to an Oct. 12 email from Superintendent Jason Pearson.

The district’s outside counsel prepared a 24-page investigative report, dated Jan. 3, 2018. The report was released to Bell, who provided a copy to the Kane County Chronicle.

“Mrs. Bell believed the district could be a leader and set an example on bullying and harassment,” the report stated. “Because the district has not issued a statement, Mrs. Bell believes the district looks complicit, is hiding and is not being proactive. … The district’s decision not to do so was within their discretion and the facts support their decision.”

The report also concluded that the district “has not previously issued public statements after individual student incidents and it did not believe it was in [Bell’s son’s] best interest” to issue a public statement on this incident.

The investigative report also concluded that district officials did not purposely deceive the Bells over the camera installation, but that “there was a series of misunderstandings and miscommunications which led to delay in installing the surveillance cameras.”

The report recommended the district “establish a clear point of contact for parents and document discussions with parents, especially when speaking with a parent who has made requests to the district.”

The investigative report also concluded that the district responded to Bell’s concern appropriately by increasing the supervision for extracurricular activities and by having a presentation on bullying and harassment.

Bell said she filed an appeal on the findings of her grievance.

District 303 spokeswoman Carol Smith provided an email statement in response to a request for comment.

“There were and are cameras at the entrances to and the lobbies of the field house,” the email stated.

“Because it has not been our practice to have cameras in classrooms or other learning areas, the cameras were installed in the field house later as part of a process to change that practice. The field house serves as teaching space during the school day,” Smith’s email stated.

“After the incident, we increased supervision in the locker rooms, which we feel was a more proactive way to keep a situation like this from occurring again,” Smith’s email stated.

Reasons to delay cameras

One of the reasons district officials gave Bell for delaying the camera installation was because of the teachers union, as installing cameras in the field house, which is considered a classroom space, would violate their contract.

But Joseph Blomquist, president of the St. Charles Education Association, said he did not know there was an issue.

“The first knowledge I had of the situation was when Mrs. Bell contacted me in September,” Bomquist said. “We do have a memorandum of understanding on the placement of the cameras.”

Documents show the memorandum of understanding regarding the cameras between the union and the district was agreed upon and signed on Oct. 23, 2017.

Aftermath

Bell said her son receives homebound tutoring because he does not feel safe at St. Charles East.