INQUEST RESPONSE

Taking aim at bullying

REGINA The director of education for the Prairie Valley School Division said work is already being done to combat racism and bullying at schools within his jurisdiction. But he added it will take co-operation from the outside community to fully deal with the continuing problem.

“Bullying and meanness extend far beyond just the walls of the school, and so it really is a societal kind of concern ...,” said Luc Lerminiaux.

The school division — or specifically one of its schools, Balgonie’s Greenall High School — faced questioning earlier this month at the inquest into the death by suicide of Greenall student Kaleab

Schmidt. Kaleab, 13, and his siblings were adopted from Ethiopia.

The inquest heard evidence that Kaleab faced racism and bullying at school, with some witnesses drawing a connection between those incidents and Kaleab’s decision to end his life.

The coroner’s jury appeared to have reached a similar conclusion. It advised investigation protocol for all cases of “physical altercations, reports of bullying and racism occurring at school” with the involvement of a school social worker, and several other measures.

Lerminiaux said racism and bullying are taken seriously.

“I can assure you that whenever an incident is reported, whether through parents or through school or through the provincial online (Report Bullying SK) ... that they absolutely are investigated and we try to get to the bottom of it,” he said.