Parents voiced frustration with the district's response at a school safety forum on Tuesday
Pennsylvania 13-year-old accused of attacking fellow student with Stanley cup during school
The student could face charges for the alleged assault
A Pennsylvania mom is concerned over what she perceives as the school district's failure to adequately address violent incidents, spotlighting the issue in light of a third-party investigation that was launched after a 12-year-old student was reportedly attacked with a metal Stanley cup at a local middle school last month.
"Why is a third-party investigation needed for the superintendent to say, ‘You know what, you messed up,' to the principal?" Stephanie Palovcak, whose child attends Pennbrook Middle School in the Philadelphia suburbs, told Fox News Digital.
The North Penn School District announced it had hired a firm to conduct an unbiased third-party investigation to look into the violent incident that took place at the middle school last month and assess how the district handled the situation so something similar doesn't happen in the future.
"Does there need to be a third-party investigation to hold people accountable in this situation?" Palovcak asked. "I don't understand why he [the superintendent] can't act on these facts that he told us and hold people accountable. Why wait for a third-party investigation?"
The alleged attack happened at Pennbrook Middle School. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)
Bias is another concern. Palovcak said that parents, including herself, are worried that the law firm hired to conduct the investigation could potentially be biased in the school district's favor.
Another parent brought up that concern with a question at Tuesday's school safety forum.
"How do we know they're independent?" one concerned dad asked.
Superintendent Todd Bauer, also responding to a question about the hiring process for the third party, said, "The board will vote on the approval of the firm," adding that three firms had been brought forward to consider through a review process.
"This firm, along with some others, are covered by the [district's] insurance policy," he added.
Parents also demanded to know why problem students continue to be allowed in the classroom, including the one behind the incident at Pennbrook Middle School.
"How come the kid that keeps doing the wrong thing gets back in the classroom? It's because, for whatever reason, they cannot be disciplined," the concerned dad said.
One mother, whose three children attend elementary school, said during the Q&A session that some students have been repeatedly physically violent toward other kids at her children's school, including one who allegedly hit another student's head against a desk, locked others in the bathroom and had thrown heavy objects during class.
Students at Pennbrook Middle School were horrified by the incident that took place in the cafeteria last month. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)
"We know which students are the problem. I've spoken to the principal [and] she says that 'We're following our policy as laid out.' Well, let's change that policy. Let's make this a safe school environment for all the students," she said.
Her comment was met with applause from those attending.
Palovcak told Fox News Digital that her child was in the cafeteria and witnessed the incident involving the Stanley cup as it took place. Like other parents, she described the culprit as a disruptive 13-year-old student who exhibited a violent past while attending other local schools.
Going into detail, she said students were traumatized by the incident and some were even calling their parents. A FOX 29 Philadelphia report quoted Palovcak as recalling that seventh-graders were left behind to witness the cleanup of blood.
The account was corroborated by another parent, Sarah Batory, who, in a previous interview with Fox News Digital, said her son was present in the cafeteria when the incident took place.
"He told me that something had happened and there was a lot of blood. And then he texted me and said that everybody, all the teachers, were making the kids put away their phones and telling them they couldn't call or text their parents. So obviously, that sent a lot of parents into quite a frenzy," she said.
Batory and Palovcak said that students were left in the cafeteria for approximately 30 minutes as they witnessed the cleanup.
A female student at a previous board meeting also recounted blood flying "everywhere," adding that the accused student grabbed the victim's hair and began yelling "I’m going to murder you" while "hitting her against the table."
The victim was hospitalized while the accused student was taken into custody.
Parents say the culprit is far from the only student with behavioral problems and violent tendencies in the district, however.
One of the moms present at Tuesday's meeting cited an incident in which a then-3rd grade student chased others with scissors.
"My God, what if he had gotten them? I mean, does it take that? Would that even do anything?" she asked.
"I want to know my kids are safe, and they're going to come home the way that I sent them there and, right now, I don't feel that."
Parents insist the repeatedly problematic students need to be removed from their current settings and placed in either online learning or an alternative school to ensure the safety of other children. They also argued that prior warnings were not taken into account concerning the student attacker from last month.
"Every child is entitled to an education. I totally support that. I support mental health awareness," Palovcak said.
"However, if you have a child who is constantly disruptive to the class setting or the school setting and is especially violent, I think that there comes a time where we just need to look at different place for that child, whether it be an alternative school or the way they did with COVID, putting students online."
Palovcak said Wednesday that she was working to arrange a protest ahead of another meeting slated to take place on Thursday.
She also said the student behind the Stanley cup incident has not returned to her daughter's school yet.
"From my understanding, they [the accused student] were just released from custody. I don't really know too much about the whereabouts of the student or when they got out of jail or anything like that. I just know that the superintendent has assured me that they have to have a hearing with the child and their family, to my knowledge, on determining whether the student can return to school or not," she said.
"The superintendent assured me that, if the child were to return at school, that he would email the parents, and I haven't received an email. Let me tell you, if that child's attending school, my daughter's being pulled out, and then I'm suing the district, and they're going to pay for my child to go to a private school," she continued.
Palovcak said she would like to see trained security on campus to help mitigate or deter such situations.
Superintendent Todd Bauer admitted at Tuesday's meeting that the district could do better, saying, "I recognize sometimes decisions are made, and in the end, it was the wrong decision. Perhaps that was the case here."
He additionally said, "That is something that is going to be clearly investigated here, in this incident. How was the decision made? Why was the decision made?"
Fox News Digital reached out to North Penn School District for comment concerning Palovcak's remarks and received the following reply: "We encourage North Penn community members with concerns to reach out directly to the school district. The superintendent continues to meet individually, in groups and in public forms to address concerns."
Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
