Neligh-Oakdale Superintendent 'Ashamed' Of Bullying

Neligh-Oakdale’s superintendent said he is “deeply embarrassed and ashamed” by how the district has handled bullying.

Scott Gregory, who is in the second year at Neligh-Oakdale, asked to address the public during Monday’s Board of Education meeting prior to going into executive session to discuss the school’s investigation into program complaints and to receive legal advice regarding them.

Gregory said the district needs to be an environment where students are not afraid to speak up and know people are going to listen to them.

“I’ve had many, many statements from people who felt that wasn’t always possible here. I am deeply embarrassed and ashamed by that,” he said. “It is one of my goals that we have an open door, and we accept students and teach them to be respectful to one another.”

Just minutes before Gregory’s statement, board members postponed his performance evaluation until after student and parent surveys on the culture of the district could be reviewed. Currently, none of the district’s principal or superintendent administrators have been offered a contract for next year.

Board member Ryan Koinzan suggested holding off the evaluation, which must be completed prior to making a decision on Gregory’s contract.

“The reason I bring it up with this item is because I think it relates to evaluation in my mind. For me to make a complete evaluation, I’d like to review both of those pieces,” he said. “It allows me to see things and hear the opinion of other people that I may not know otherwise.”

Last month, the board agenda stated that principal contracts would be discussed at Monday’s meeting for George Loofe and Mary Schrader, but that item was not listed on the February agenda, which was revised twice after its initial release but never mentioned administrative contracts.

The board will evaluate Gregory on April 12, which is the last day for them to offer him a contract for next year. Gregory told the board that should he continue as the school’s administrator, addressing the bullying issue will be a priority.

“If I come back under a new contract, that is my goal and that’s my objective and that’s what I’ll do. I will always strive to find the right solution to things and to hopefully help our students and our staff to handle things,” he said.

Gregory told the board “it’s not a secret that a number of students, alumni in particular from 6-7-8 years ago, have been contacting me” about bullying. He specifically thanked Abigail Ervin, a 2012 Neligh-Oakdale graduate, who wrote a blog that went viral about her experiences with being bullied at Neligh-Oakdale.

“I’d like to emphasize first and foremost to those individuals who reached out and talked to me that we hear you loud and clear,” Gregory said.

He said in years past there were efforts to address bullying, including assemblies, but Gregory said assemblies and “fun get togethers are nice, but to be effective you have to have a program that leans forward and actively teach kids to be upstanders. You have to make an investment.”

Gregory suggested the school change its curriculum to include the anti-bully program Olweus, which is for students K-12. He said the program will cost between $3,000-$8,000 and teachers could begin learning it on their first day back of fall 2018.

The superintendent said he plans to “make certain Neligh-Oakdale is remembered positively by alumni and by those who walk our halls today.”

He added, “The public has expressed doubt for Neligh-Oakdale and when it comes to trust or rapport, I don’t know if we’ve always necessarily earned it or deserved it. But I aim to gain that back and that will be a key focus of mine and something that will be a priority for me.”