CARIBOU, Maine — Two parents who said their children had been bullied at Caribou Community School are asking leaders to consider bringing back the district’s school resource officer.
The parents’ comments at a recent school board meeting came just over a year after Regional School Unit 39, which includes Caribou and Stockholm, eliminated its school resource officer due to budget constraints and a shortage of local police officers. The district chose instead to fund a third social worker at the school, which serves pre-K to grade eight, in hopes of addressing post-COVID mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety.
The district’s emphasis on proactive mental health care for students over a police presence led the parents to question if bullying is being adequately addressed. The CountyME is not identifying the two parents to protect their children’s identities.
One parent claimed that on Dec. 5 several classmates assaulted her son on the community school’s playground. The students allegedly circled him, kicked him until he fell to the ground, and continued kicking him until he stood up and ran away, she said.
“This happened at 8 o’clock, but I didn’t find out until my son got off the bus in tears,” the parent said.
The parent told school board members that she thought the school’s subsequent disciplinary action against the alleged attackers of detentions and being kept away from outdoor recess for the rest of the week was not harsh enough.
Another parent who spoke on Dec. 6 said her son witnessed and reported the alleged bullying on Dec. 5 and now worries about retaliation from the alleged bullies. He also has been bullied within the past two years and now takes depression and anxiety medication, she said.
“My son no longer wants to get out of bed. He doesn’t want to go to school,” she said. “There are more than a handful of these children dealing with aggressive behaviors, and that’s not okay.”
RSU 39’s bullying policy defines bullying as “written, oral or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination” that gives someone “reasonable fear” of suffering physical harm or damage to their property, creates a hostile environment or interferes with a student’s ability to learn. Expulsion remains the harshest form of potential punishment.
Caribou Community School Principal Lee Caron and Caribou Police Chief Michael Gahagan said that they could not comment on the alleged incident or other instances of bullying currently under investigation.
When bullying is reported, the school conducts an investigation that includes speaking with students and notifying parents, Caron said. Social workers speak with the children on why they made certain choices and how those choices affected others. Often, administrators will notify teachers and recess aides to ensure that certain children remain separated and do not interact.
“We have notified police and suspended students in the past, but every situation is different and depends on the students,” Caron said. “I have not had to expel a student yet.”
At the board meeting, the parent who spoke first suggested the district reinstate a school resource officer for next year’s budget to help more students feel safe.
“I don’t think this [incident] would have happened had an officer been there,” she said.
RSU 39 contracted with Caribou Police for four years to have a resource officer at both the community school and Caribou High School. The district paid $80,000 to the police department. With Caribou Police short staffed, that meant the officer only spent time on school grounds for 25 percent of the 2021-2022 school year, which was a factor in eliminating the position as of July 2022.
Gahagan said that he would support reinstating the school resource officer but only if his department had enough officers again. He declined to comment on how many vacant positions the department currently has, but the city’s website includes a job advertisement for a police officer.
“We try to go to the schools as often as we can, at least a couple times a week, depending on what else is going on,” Gahagan said.
Prior to fall 2022, the resource officer would greet students as they arrive, monitor hallways and after-school bus pick-ups, assist with home visits, help lead active shooter trainings and notify administrators of potential safety issues, Caron said.
It’s still uncertain whether the school board will consider the resource officer position, since staff and administrators remain in preliminary budget talks for 2024-2025. But, if financially possible, Caron said he would support bringing back an officer.
“It gives peace of mind to families because of all the crazy things that have happened, even in our own state,” Caron said, referring to mass shootings, including one that devastated Lewiston in late October.
In the meantime, Caron said that recent initiatives focused on mental health have already begun making a difference. The school’s three social workers visit classrooms to teach age-appropriate lessons on social and emotional well-being. In a process called “classroom looping,” each social worker continues working with the same group of students as they move up a grade every year.
This year Tanya Stubbs, the social worker hired in fall 2022, began an anti-bullying club that has gained 51 student members. The school’s teachers and administrators are also implementing the BARR program, known as Building Assets, Reducing Risks, focused on assessing students’ strengths and challenges and forming positive relationships.
“Children are still going to make poor choices, so we’re going to continue trying to be proactive,” Caron said.
