Cheshire Parent: Bullying a Problem at Doolittle School

A Doolittle School parents is appealing to the Board of Education to take action after he says his son was threatened at the school.

Joseph Bango spoke at last week's Board of Education meeting, telling members that his son was threatened by three other students with a knife.

"There have been death threats made against my son," Bango told the board during the public portion of the meeting. "I had a great deal of difficulty calming him down."

After the incident, he requested that school officials inspect backpacks, Bango said, but he was rebuffed. School officials said the request was "inflammatory," he said. 

"I was told the matter was closed and nothing else would happen," he said. "They never recommended any type of conclusion and a week later my son was harassed again by the students."

Bango's neighbor Adrienne Serra told the board that her son too had experienced bullying at Cheshire High School to the point that the family is soon moving.

"Normally I would not come forward," she told the board, but Bango's concerns deserve attention. She herself has brought a civil rights investigation against the school because of the "pervasive harassment" her child has experienced, she said.

In light of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, that response is unacceptable, Bango told the board.

"We are only six months away from Newtown," he said. "If there is a potential for harm, what is being done?

"I would like your help on how I can assure that children will be safe," he said, adding that he has already conferred with his attorney about the matter.

Board of Education Chairman Gerry Brittingham said that while he would like to address the issue, the board cannot comment for legal reasons. He invited Bango to speak to board members in private after the meeting.

"While you are free to discuss it in a public forum in as much detail as you wish, we are not," he said.