A father who says his daughter’s school failed three times to make sure the kindergartner got on the school bus asked Gwinnett County’s school board Thursday to fire the school principal and others.
Tristan King said his 5-year-old daughter was found in a classroom at Norton Elementary by herself on Feb. 28 instead of on a school bus bound for home. When King's 10-year-old son had called him from the bus frantic that he didn't know where his sister was, King rushed to the school and berated staff, saying the girl had left behind two other times this school year. A video of that encounter has gone viral with more than 2 million views on Facebook.
King appeared on radio station WAOK on Monday asking supporters to join him at the school board meeting. Although the auditorium was packed at the beginning of the evening, by the time King spoke the crowd had thinned significantly. It’s unclear how many remaining spectators were there on his behalf.
Although school board members nodded their heads and said they sympathized with his plight, they didn’t say if they’d do anything about his demands. School board chairman Mary Murphy asked that Jorge Gomez, executive director of administration and policy meet with King to discuss the issue.
Principal Melanie Lee sent out a letter to parents a week after the incident explaining what happened and assuring them that everything had been settled, but King said he's never had a meeting with her.
“I haven’t spoken with anyone on the school board or school officials,” said King at the board meeting. “I was forced to send my kids back to school where they were placed in the same hands of the people that are responsible for all this.”
King said, “I’ve gotten emails and (messages) from other parents at this school saying that the same thing has happened to them.” He’d like to see a plan put in place for children in second grade and younger, he said.
King is demanding that principal Lee, assistant principal Bipul Singh and Talara Soca, the front desk receptionist, be fired. He also wants a letter of apology signed by all school board members.
“Something needs to be done,” he said. “These children are not safe.”
Board member Everton Blair thanked King for his input, but didn't offer solutions.
“I appreciate you coming and sharing your story, I hope you get the answers that you want. And also hope that we can continue to put things in place that for parents feeling comfortable knowing that who we put our trust in are keeping our students safe.”
Board member Carole Boyce who represents District I where Norton Elementary is located acknowledge that there were “interesting conversations” during the public comment period, but gave no indication that anything would be done about King’s demands.
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