Mom upset with reaction to racist bullying

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A group chat involving Castle Rock Middle School students evolved into bullying with racial slurs and threats that targeted Black and biracial students for months.

Lacey Ganzy told Colorado Community Media that her son, Jeramiah, an eighth grader at the school, was invited by other students to a student group chat on Snapchat in February. Soon after, he received frequent messages using the N-word. Two students threatened violence against Black people.

In addition to the group chat, Jeramiah said a school administrator earlier questioned him recently about a stolen water bottle, insinuating Jeramiah couldn’t a ord one of his own. His mother considers the insinuation to be racial pro ling. Jeramiah added in an interview that students have called him a monkey and the N-word at school.

e messages in the group were bigoted, including one where a student said “bring back the Holocaust,” and another threatening violence. Screenshots of the messages were provided to Colorado Community Media by Ganzy.

During Tuesday’s special school board meeting, Superintendent Erin Kane told Colorado Community Media that she has spoken to the Ganzy family to address what has happened to Jeramiah.

“I want to make it really really clear that racial slurs are not OK,” she said. Ganzy said Jeramiah reported his experiences with racism to the district through a feedback form on its website on March 10, but did not get a response.

Weeks later, on April 19, Ganzy tion, the section on urban areas, the section on nonurban areas and the glossary all do not appear to include a de nition of the term “character.” e county zoning rules section that lists de nitions also does not de ne “character.”

Teal, another commissioner, also felt the density went too far.

Jill Repella, with the development team, eventually said the proposal could be changed to increase the home lot sizes “a bit.” e development team is “making the commitment that we can increase half the lot sizes,” said Repella, who is a former Douglas County commissioner. learned that her son was being bullied, including what she was told was near-daily racism. She reported it to Castle Rock Middle School and Douglas County School District administrators the next day. She also reported it to the Castle Rock Police Department.

Laydon said he appreciated the concession.

Ganzy provided recordings of conversations between her and district administrators that took place on April 20. According to the recording, the student in the group chat who advocated for a second Holocaust received a ve-day suspension. A second student, who threatened to shoot Black people, had not been suspended as of April 25.

Deputy Superintendent Danelle Hiatt is the administrator in the recording, according to Ganzy. Hiatt told Ganzy in the meeting that the district would be addressing the issue. Hiatt also apologized.

“I’m just really disgusted by what you’ve shown me on your phone about the behavior of our students and it is not OK,” Hiatt said on the recording.

Meanwhile, Ganzy has not allowed Jeramiah to go to school since April 20, fearing for his safety.

“He’s the victim, but he’s the one not in school,” she said. “He’s being robbed of his education.” e Douglas County School District will discuss the proposed equity policy during a workshop on May 8. e policy has been a source of controversy for the district since 2020. omas praised the proposal’s planning as it relates to water resources.

Ganzy added that she’s concerned that Jeramiah’s experience shows the district is failing to create a safe environment for all students and that it needs to improve diversity, equity and inclusion.

“ ey consider hate crimes the same as bullying in every handbook in Douglas County,” she said.

Repella said some nearby residents want the proposed lot size to expand to 1- to 1 1/2-acre lots.

“We’re not going to get to that, but we’re going to” work on a change, she said.

“What it appears to me is that this developer has chosen to ( gure out) how many homes they can put on this parcel (and) cluster them together so they can get a central water and wastewater system, which is gold,” omas said, adding that it “gives the neighborhood a better opportunity to maintain those wells that Ms. Repella talked about.”

Avoiding having new homes “sucking wells out of the aquifer” is a part of the plan that “saves your wells,” omas said.

“I thought that is the genius in this,” she said.