Parents at Nokomis Regional High School complain about bullying at the school

ST. Albans, Maine (WABI) - There have been several accounts of bullying at Nokomis Regional High School.

One parent says it’s been going on for years and as recently as last week.

“This past Friday, my son was assaulted in school while he was switching classrooms,” Linda Sprague said.

Linda has two children who go to Nokomis.

She and her husband, William Sprague, said they’re fed up with the school district doing nothing about it.

“There has been physical abuse, emotional abuse, cyber bullying, and we have got videos, we’ve got statements, and we have taken it to the administration and nothing has happened,” William said.

Eleventh grader Caoilinn Sprague started an online petition which now has over 400 signatures.

She said she wants the school to take bullying seriously.

“I put some of my story on there so people can understand what we go through and so parents and peers know what’s actually going on,” Caoilinn said.

The family recounted some of the bullying incidents at a recent school board meeting. Their son Keagan said he had to stand up for himself and others.

“It came to me and I confronted them about all of it, and it resulted me with two black eyes, a broken nose, and a stitch in my lip,” Keagan said.

The family walked out of the meeting. William Sprague said it was due to victim blaming.

“I left because the superintendent made a statement that my son put himself in the situation to be bullied. Well there is no justification for bullying. Bullying should not be allowed in any school,” William said.

Superintendent Mike Hammer told us, “there have been consequences to the actions, despite what is being said.”

He also says in part, “It is frustrating for everyone involved, I have asked for suggestions on what actions people would like to see as a result of the attention this situation has brought forward and I have not received any. We cannot just remove students from school forever.”

The Sprague family agrees with the last part of that statement, but they say it’s the job of the superintendent and principal to find solutions, not the parents.

Meanwhile, William said he is left to take matters into his own hands.

“Now we have to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all the students that attend there or have attended there and on behalf of the parents also that have been abused and their civil rights have been grossly violated to a degree beyond your imagination.”

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