Parents sound alarm over bullying, racism in Lynnfield schools: 'Nothing has changed'

On the North Shore, a Linfield family is at a loss over repeated racist bullying in school. This is a story Boston 25 has been covering for weeks. And tonight, Boston 25 news reporter Lisa Grassi is talking to the family fighting for action and change. Despite the district's most recent efforts, parents are saying that incidents of racism and bullying continues to be reported. It's just been to a point where what do you do? We got pushed to this. Seeing Carl Allien go before the school committee week after week, joining other parents to speak up about the racism within Linfield Public Schools, Boston 25 asked to sit down with him to hear exactly what his 12-year-old son has been experiencing. Within a week, three incidents of him being called monkey, go back to Africa. Incidents of him being told he's a slave, obey your master, whipping gestures being made towards him. While the district has publicly denounced these incidents, he says the bullying hasn't stopped. We trusted that the school was taking care of things behind the scenes. But then when you realize and your eyes wake up and you find out that they're not doing anything, you have to go to the next and go to the next and next. Allien decided to file a public records request for the investigation reports, only to receive an invoice for almost $7,000, another for almost $6,000 more, adding up to nearly $13,000. We were shocked because all we want is the investigation reports. The district pointing to the hours of work it would require to pull the documents. The superintendent telling him at a recent meeting those reports weren't readily available. Do you have those? Not with me. When Allien appealed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and supervisor of records, the state called for the district to revise the estimate because they say as of now, the breakdown isn't adding up. Allien has since gone through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, DESE delivering with this heavy packet from the district, and still not one investigation report to be found. This is the superintendent sent out a new notice to all parents, calling for a list of new ways to document these incidents and the serious consequences to follow. Allien relieved to receive the call for action, but wishing it didn't take all of this time and pain first. You got to get it from the beginning and fast. If you call it urgent, treat it urgent. If it was a cell phone policy, if it was a dress code policy, those things would have been addressed so quickly. However, racism got put delayed, delayed, delayed. In the notice to parents, the superintendent also said that all principals have been asked to come to the next school committee meeting with any revisions they may have to each school's handbook. In Linfield, I'm Lisa Greschi for your local station, Boston 25 News.