Members of the board:

As you may remember, I made a statement at the previous

meeting regarding the current lack of communication and
leadership at Arroyo Seco Elementary.
Following that statement, I had a phone call with Mike Biondi on
May 15th.
During that call, Mr. Biondi accused me of launching a what he
called a “personal attack” and shamed me for addressing the
school board. He stated that the board shouldn’t be approached
with such issues, saying that in the future items such as the ones
discussed were under his supervision and that I should reach out
to him directly.
I had to remind him that I reached out to him after the miss
handling of the incident with my son via email on March 16, 2018
and nothing was done.
Now it’s 14 months later and there has been another incident that
ties Seco and ESS together, this time a sexual assault on campus
involving a student enrolled at ESS, and I felt I had no other
option but to approach the Board with my concerns.
During our conversation Mr. Biondi also said that he was
concerned that parents were referring to the incident as “sexual
assault” because “it wasn’t.” Those were Mr. Biondi’s words.
So, I looked it up. Sexual assault in its broadest definition is
unwanted sexual contact. A further definition is contact with
genitalia, breast, buttocks, or other intimate body parts.
Based on both of those definitions, that is exactly the situation we
are dealing with. I’m sure that the parents of the child that was
assaulted would disagree with Mr. Biondi assessment of the
situation, as I certainly do, as I’m sure most Arroyo Seco parents
would.
Something is not right here. Why is this situation being
downplayed?
I am not going to be bullied, and I am not going to be shamed by
Mr. Biondi.
I am here to make sure that the board understands the severity of
the situation, and that the concerns of parents seem to be falling
on deaf ears.
I came to him as a concerned parent over a year ago, and I was
told that these issues would be addressed. They weren’t.
I came to the board two weeks ago and am now I’m being
accused of “launching a personal attack.”
Clearly, he can’t see the bigger picture – there is leadership in
place that is ill equipped to deal with very serious issues that are
occurring on campus. These issues are not being taken seriously,
and there are blatant attempts to downplay exactly what
happened.
The events that took place with my son were downplayed. Arroyo
Seco Administration failed him. He suffers from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder after being held against his will on campus. He
still cannot walk into a room alone, even in our own home, without
someone else being present.
And as you are well aware, there is now there is another child
dealing with trauma from another on campus incident.
How many more victims do there need to be before someone
listens? No other child or their family should have to suffer.
Enough is enough. This cannot continue to happen.
What I took away from my conversation with Mr. Biondi was that it
was clear that he has a strong interest in keeping the current
leadership in place, rather than listening to the growing concerns
of Arroyo Seco families. And I have to question, WHY? What does
he have to gain, while Arroyo Seco students and their families
lose?
We have lost out on:
- An Administration that listens to the cares and concerns of
parents and reacts and communicates accordingly
- A fun elementary school environment – there are no more
spirit assemblies, school song, spirit week, egg drop, all
these fun activities that our children used to participate in
that are no longer.
- An administrator that is present on campus, interacting with
students in a positive manner and attends major school
functions
- A physically and emotionally safe school environment
- An individual that is looked up to by students as a positive
role model
So, again, as I asked on May 6th, I ask that you consider a
change in leadership at Arroyo Seco elementary. Protect our
children. Support of children. Because they deserve it.