La Pine parents voice concern over bullying incidents

La Pine parents are voicing their concerns about bullying to Bend-La Pine Schools officials.

Several parents said Tuesday they are concerned that the bullying at La Pine High School and La Pine Middle School is getting out of hand.

A concerned parent contacted NewsChannel 21 about the bullying. He said he was worried about the safety of his children — and alleged that the administration isn’t doing enough to stop the bullying.

On a Facebook page called, “What’s really happening in La Pine,” there were more than 100 posts from people sharing stories of their kids being bullied at school in La Pine.

Kody Hanner, a mother of five, said she has pulled several of her children out of school because of bullying. They’re now being home-schooled. She said she wants to see preventative measures in place before it is too late.

“I just really feel like, when there’s the constant cycle of not helping the kids, whether it be helping the kids who are the bullies or helping the kids who feel bullied, that’s when we start having the issues that we’ve seen in Florida and other places,” Hanner said.

She also said her son in the sixth grade was attacked at school.

“Our son is about an 80-pound kid, and a 6-foot-tall, probably 300-pound kid grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into the back of a concrete wall,” Hanner said. “One teacher actually described it as the scariest experience of her life.:

NewsChannel 21 reached out to the principals of La Pine’s high school and middle school.

Middle school Principal Robi Phinney responded with a statement, part of which said there are two sides to every story — and the school works with families, student and staff to create a positive safe environment.

Phinney also said thy have policies and practices to address bullying on the district’s website and noted a study that indicates bullying incidents in Oregon are actually on the decline.

Trentyn Tenant, a junior at La Pine High School, said he sees bullying frequently and that staff does its best to address it.

“I see a lot of somewhat racial bullying, mostly verbal bullying, not as much physical; the pushing kids into lockers and that kind of thing. I don’t see that,” Tenant said. “But I see a lot of the verbal discrimination — putting kids down a lot, not really bringing each other up and making each other feel good or feel safe and wanted at the school,”