Glacier High students disciplined following hazing allegations

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Two Glacier High School students have been suspended from extracurricular activities for the remainder of the school year as authorities investigate allegations of hazing on the wrestling team last year.

Attorney Elizabeth Kaleva said the two would be eligible to return to extracurricular activities upon completion of a Center for Restorative Youth Justice program. Kaleva is representing Kalispell Public Schools in a complaint alleging assault and sexual assault among wrestling team members.

A third student was also disciplined, although Kaleva declined to give details on Tuesday. She said the sentence was changed to likely identify the individual, in violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

The disciplinary action follows hearings held Monday evening at a special meeting of the district board of directors. The hearings were the first held into the allegations since the school districts’ investigation began in January. According to Superintendent Micah Hill, officials learned of the allegations on January 9.

The Kalispell Police Department is simultaneously investigating the allegations.

Monday’s hearings were held in executive session, which is closed to the public, after determining that the demands for individual privacy clearly outweigh the merit of public disclosure, a provision of Montana’s open meeting law.

Nine directors from the 11-member board attended the hearings. Although all of the recommendations voted on by the directors were adopted, none were unanimous. The trustees tied 7-2 at the first hearing and 6-3 at subsequent hearings.

Officials refrained from disclosing details of the recommendations. Hill later said that publishing the disciplinary actions taken at the public meeting could allow members of the public to identify the students and breach privacy laws. The students involved attended the hearings, Hill said.

Glacier High School principal Brad Holloway and Glacier athletic director Mark Mark Dennehy, who is also a vice-principal, were present during the hearings but deferred any comment to Hill.

After the hearings, the meeting entered executive session for a fourth and final time to discuss legal strategy between the trustees and administrators, joined by legal counsel, due to ongoing litigation.

Kalispell’s attorney, Michael Bliven, of the Bliven law firm, alleged in a complaint sent to administrators on January 20 that students had suffered assaults, some of them sexual, while participating in the high school wrestling program. . The complaint, which NBC Montana first reported, accuses coaches and school officials of turning a blind eye to the assaults, which stem from a high school culture and tradition of hazing.

The meeting then reopened for public comment on the issues, but, at that time, no one was present in the audience.

Administrators at Glacier High School have dealt with hazing allegations once before, about a decade ago. In 2011-12, a high-profile incident on a freshman football bus resulted in multiple suspensions, with several of the students facing assault charges in Flathead Youth Court.

Hill, now a district superintendent, was an assistant principal at Glacier High School at the time of the bus incident. Asked if any changes have been made as a result of the incident, Hill replied via email that coaches are working to keep lines of communication open with athletes and their parents throughout the course. season.

The district also relies on a code of conduct and existing policies, Hill wrote.

Coaches meet with student-athletes and their parents before the start of each season to discuss team rules and expectations and remind them regularly throughout the season, he wrote. When we become aware of allegations of student misconduct, we investigate promptly and thoroughly and then respond in accordance with our established policies.

Administrator Jack Fallon served on the school board at the time.

The dilemma was beginning to be felt among young people, two issues are concerning, one is that students don’t realize the magnitude of decisions when making them in combination with TikTok challenges, Fallon said on Wednesday. Right now, young people don’t seem to understand their lack of respect for another person until something goes wrong.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or by email at [email protected].

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