Castle Rock family to sue school district over racist bullying

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A Castle Rock family is planning to take legal action against the Douglas County School District over its handling of repeated instances of racism targeting Black and biracial students at Castle Rock Middle School.

Lacey Ganzy, whose eighth-grade son Jeramiah was called racial slurs and threatened in a student group chat, reported the issue to school and district administrators on April 20. Since then, Ganzy said only one student involved has been suspended. Ganzy has not returned Jeramiah to school, fearing for his safety. He is completing the semester online.

Jeramiah said the past few weeks have been di cult.

“I just feel alone now,” he said. “ ey treat it as a joke and nobody really understands how it feels.”

Ganzy said she is taking legal action because she doesn’t feel the district is responding appropriately to the threats her son faced.

“I think that the way society is going and with the crimes in our school district, it’s imperative that I take those threats seriously,” she said.

In a past statement, the school district said it couldn’t comment on details of discipline related to speci c students, but said administrators are handling the complaint pursuant to the student code of conduct and school board policies.

“It is our goal to take care of each and every one of our students in our district,” the statement said. “We appreci- ate the Ganzy family bringing their concerns to us so we can make sure our system is addressing their needs.”

Iris Halpern, Ganzy’s attorney, said the family anticipates ling a civil rights lawsuit in federal court.

Halpern recently represented former Douglas County superintendent Corey Wise, who led a complaint against the school district with the Colorado O ce of Civil Rights over his termination, claiming it was retaliation for his support of masking and equity policies. Wise settled with the school district in April for more than $830,000.

“I think it’s important to note that this is becoming a real pattern in Douglas County,” Halpern said. “Kids don’t learn white supremacy in a vacuum.”

Ganzy said she is planning to move her family out of Castle Rock because of the backlash to them speaking out. Friends have organized a GoFundMe to support the Ganzys’ move.

“I really hope we’re the last family that Castle Rock makes an example of and the last family to have to leave a place they’ve called home,” she said.