Springboro schools make statement on students’ ‘unacceptable and disgusting’ social media post

Hook said the students involved were brought to the Springboro High School office and questioned. He said, “the photo in question was an inappropriate selfie photo that shows two students in an SHS boys’ restroom. The post displays an inappropriate caption.”

While some have suggested the post was originally taken in a girls’ restroom, Hook said that was not the case.

Hook said the district does not condone any type of behavior related to sexual harassment.

“The post in question is unacceptable and disgusting,” Hook said. “This post has the strong impression of making female students feel at risk, and our district will not stand for any type of behavior that makes students feel this way.”

Hook said no students or staff were physically harmed. He said in the interest of transparency, the district wanted to make parents aware of this incident from the weekend, and that the district is committed to the safety and education of all our students.

The district cannot comment on specific student discipline matters, Hook said, but said the district is working toward appropriate discipline measures and with the Springboro police.

He said a student alerted a staff member about the photo.

Hook said any questions or concerns about this matter can be addressed by calling the high school at 937-748-3950. He said direct concerns about student safety can be addressed by visiting the Student Safety Reporting Webpage - http://www.springboro.org/studentsafetyreporting.aspx.

Jeff Paschke-Johannes of the Springboro-based Parents Empowering All Children of Color group said they expect the school board to address this incident. He said members of the group plan to address it and its relationship to similar racist memes sent out by Springboro students in the past at tonight’s school board meeting.

The school board meeting starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the high school library.

Paschke-Johannes said the social media image refers to a statistic about the percentage of women who experience sexual harassment. Last week, PEACOC held a public meeting which included students, parents, school administrators and board members to discuss these issues.