Gilroy – It began with a high school spat: a squabble over a few
tennis balls, ending with a nasty lump on the head.
A month later, the gym-class clash has ballooned into a
discrimination claim.
Gilroy – It began with a high school spat: a squabble over a few tennis balls, ending with a nasty lump on the head.
A month later, the gym-class clash has ballooned into a discrimination claim. Parents Kevin and Cathy Kang say their complaints about school violence were belittled and brushed away by GHS Principal James Maxwell, who declined to comment. Bigotry is to blame, say the two Chinese-American parents, who moved to Gilroy seven years ago.
“I don’t know how else to explain it,” said Cathy Kang. “Never, since we came to the U.S. [20 years ago] … we have never been treated like this.”
School officials say they can’t comment on the complaint, nor confirm the date it was filed, because the case is under investigation by Assistant Superintendent Linda Piceno. According to the district’s complaint policy, Piceno must respond within 30 days of the Kangs’ complaint, and provide a written response no more than 15 days later. Until then, officials’ lips are sealed.
The Kangs have met with assistant principals, teachers and the school district’s higher-ups to lodge their complaint, documenting each of their steps in detail. They want Maxwell suspended, or transferred, along with Assistant Principal Maryann Boylan.
“School violence needs to be taken seriously – and we were discriminated against,” said Kevin Kang.
The Kangs say it began Dec. 7, when another student struck their daughter’s head with a metal tennis racket as she left gym class. Their daughter, Connie Kang, said she didn’t file a complaint because she feared a “she said, she said” situation. Connie’s gym teacher, Charles Ogle, declined to comment on the incident.
The next day, Connie complained of a crushing headache and stopped twice at the nurse’s office for bags of ice. That night, the Kangs took her to Kaiser Santa Teresa Medical Center in San Jose.
It was the first of four visits the Kangs would make to Kaiser that week, culminating in one doctor’s diagnosis of a minor concussion. Connie had trouble balancing with her eyes shut, and later complained of dizziness and vision problems.
The next morning, Kevin Kang asked to meet with Maxwell, who Kang claims broke one appointment, then shrugged off their complaint in a meeting later that day, saying the other student denied hitting Connie.
“He said she was a good kid,” Kevin Kang recalled, “and that her parent was on the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee [SPAC.] But what does that have to do with it? My daughter is a good kid, too.” Kang has also served on SPAC in the past, he said, and his wife volunteers in the high school as a classroom assistant.
“When I talked to [the] school, the administrator told me that I can file a report to police because the principal is busy,” Kang claimed. “Then, when I talked to [School Resource Officer Cherie Somavia], she told us we need to talk to the school to investigate first … Nobody took it seriously.”
Kang also said Maxwell was skeptical of Connie’s injuries. Cathy Kang brought in the family’s Kaiser receipts and a written timeline of events to Maxwell’s office. The following day, the Kangs say Connie was called to the principal’s office, where Maxwell allegedly accused her of lying. An hour later, Cathy Kang stopped into the office. She claims that Maxwell said her daughter had psychological problems, and had concocted the whole story.
“He said if we pursued it further, she would be suspended,” said Cathy Kang.
Just before winter break, Kevin Kang submitted a formal complaint to the school district.
That night he appeared at a school board meeting, and overran his three-minute limit as he complained about their treatment.
Finally, he met with Gilroy police officer Stuart Jaquez, and filed an incident report. Gilroy police confirmed that a report had been filed.
Maxwell declined to comment.
“It’s sensitive,” said school board president Tom Bundros, “as are all cases of harassment or bullying. We just need to let it work through the system.”
