False Accusations, Perceived Bullying By Admins At Austin Middle

Guilty until proven innocent, right? Isn't that the saying? Oh no, wait, it's innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, we seem to roll with the first saying these days, and it just happened to a student at Austin Middle School here in Amarillo.

Schools are always paying attention to students, and they should be, that's their job. However, to not listen to a student or a parent about something is rather ridiculous, especially when you're about to levy some severe punishment.

Mike Bartels posted on Facebook to talk about the fact that Austin Middle School suspended his daughter from school because she showed up in class with red eyes. There was an immediate assumption made that his daughter was intoxicated in some capacity, whether it be alcohol or drugs.

She was pulled out of class and the nurse and a police officer met up with her. The officer began asking questions, and as any 13 year old would, they got nervous. She knew she had done nothing wrong, but police officers can be intimidating to adults, let alone children.

She began to stutter as she answered the questions from the officer and from there, it was determined that she was intoxicated due to marijuana.

Many of us have been in the presence of marijuana, whether it be at a concert, a party, or just around someone who uses it. Marijuana has a strong smell that is very difficult to get rid of, so if she was intoxicated on it, the smell would have been very present.

After Mr. Bartels received the call from school saying that she was suspended and they would have to provide a drug test to allow her back into school, he promptly went and purchased one. That drug test came back negative. He presented it to the administration at Austin Middle School and they said that was not a district approved test and that he'd need one from a doctor stating she was all clear.

At that point, they went to a physician to get the drug test done, but would have to wait four days for the results, and his daughter would not be able to attend school while awaiting the results. It was then that Mr. Bartels had a meeting with Principal Jim Potts and other administrators.

As you can see in the video, many questions were asked, and some answers were given. However, it seemed Principal Potts was very uncomfortable, even mentioning if the video Mr. Bartels was recording ended up on social media, there would be a problem. That would be perceived as a threat, and bullying to get him to stop recording the video.

I'll sidebar here for a second, because my oldest son attended Austin Middle School for about a year and a half. The bullying is something the school says they don't tolerate and won't put up with. My son dealt with it right out the gate in his first month at the school. Potts was not the principal at the time so I didn't have an interaction with him on it.

That particular instance did get handled to a certain extent, but the bullying never stopped, and even when it was brought up by my son, it was essentially brushed off. We ended up moving houses and out of the district, and my oldest couldn't have been happier to get away from Austin Middle School. He couldn't take the bullying anymore, and the administration didn't seem to care much that it was going on.

Back to this situation though. The drug test did end up coming back as negative for all drugs. Mr. Bartels and his family then met again with Principal Potts to present the drug test, and this was the video of that interaction.

Apologies were given, but the damage had already been done. Mr. Bartels daughter had missed a full week of schoolwork that Potts mentioned she could make up, but should she be responsible for that when the school completely misread the situation? That's a fight for another day.

I understand that schools do have to keep the safety of kids in mind, that is 100% their job. However, it is also their job to be sure of something before jumping to conclusions. My eyes get really red with my allergies. They get itchy very easily and will turn a dead red shade when that happens. Nothing helps them outside of time maybe some special allergy eye drops. Not to mention allergies have been really bad this season in the Panhandle.

My heart goes out to the Bartels family for what they had to endure with this situation, and I agree with Mr. Bartels when he stated on Facebook that because of this situation, his daughter is now subject to accusations and bullying from other kids at school. The question is will the school protect her from the bullying should it come, or will they brush it off much like they did with my son? Only time will tell.