July 6, 2006 - 8:11 a.m.
Senator David Goodman
Senate Building
Room #125, First Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Telephone - 614-466-8064
dgoodman@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
Dear Senator Goodman:
We spoke with your designee Nathan several times concerning Ms. ______ and the assault on her daughter by another parent named James Drennen. We've shared James Drennen's background and his subsequent menacing threats and disorderly conduct on school property aimed toward another mother and her children for which he was charged May 23, 2006. One of the questions we are asking is "How does your bill apply to Ms. ______ and Ms. _______, the other mother who was threatened along with her daughters on school property by James Drennen?"
Ms. _______, the mother of one of the victims of assault, received two correspondences from school officials. One in the form of an e-mail dated February 23, 2006 from the school principal, who does not indicate he followed Board policy 5161.8 concerning school employees requirement to report child abuse, to his Supervisor nine days later rather than immediately as required under state law.
The other letter from Superintendent Harris to Ms. ______ is dated March 30, 2006. In the letter, Superintendent Harris does not indicate any of her designees or herself followed Board policy 5161.8 concerning school employees requirement to report child abuse. In fact, Superintendent Harris, in her first line of the letter, indicates the mother has alleged her daughter sustained injuries by another individual on school property. However, she does not state in the letter that she or any other school employees involved the parent, the police Strategic Response Bureau, FCCS, or the City Prosecutor's Office; yet, she indicates this is what should have been the action taken in the Mifflin Assault case.
In addition, please be advised that the school's internal investigation alleged by Superintendent did not include and/or involve the parents, the victims of the attacks, or the witnesses to the attacks. However, the Security on Duty the night of the girls' attack, indicated in a videotaped conversation at the June 20, 2006 Board meeting that he reported to the police the assault on the girls. Furthermore, he stated many of the individuals in the crowd on February 14, 2006 were shouting to the police that an assault on children had occurred..
After both the e-mail and the letter to Ms ______, James Drennen returned to the school property May 19, 2006, and made menacing threats to, yet, another mother and her children. For his actions on May 19, 2006, James Drennen was charged with two counts menacing and two counts disorderly conduct on West High School property; however, to date, he has not been charged with the attack on the girls February 14, 2006; although, as documented, injuries were sustained, medics were called twice and the girls were taken to the hospital and observed over night.
Nathan informed Ms. Kent that you initiated the "Failure to Report" rule, and from further reading, you want to strengthen the "Failure to Report" rule with Bill 137. If that is your goal, an attack on two teenage girls on school property by two adult males, one of whom has a criminal history of felonious assault, theft, manslaughter and crack cocaine, needs to be appropriately investigated by the standards we have in place currently.
Columbus Public School Superintendent Harris stated at the June 20, 2006 Board meeting that she gave each Board member background information on the February 14, 2006 attack and the May 19, 2006 menacing and disorderly conduct by James Drennen and an unidentified man and woman. James Drennen, one of the accused attackers, has recently written publicly that he witnessed a man "slamming" Ms. ______' daughter to the concrete ground that night.
As one of our Senators pushing legislation to increase the penalty for "Failure to Report", Justice for Kids is requesting your office make a written request for the background information involving the thorough investigation Superintendent Harris publicly spoke of during the June 20, 2006 Board meeting. Justice for Kids has also requested the background information received by the board, which we were told by Board Member Jeff Cabot at the June 30, 2006 Board Meeting, is a public record. Ms. ______ has also made a formal request for any investigative report regarding her daughter's attack as well as the background information provided to each Board Member. As of this date, district officials have failed to produce the public record requested.
We will follow-up this e-mail with a phone call next week. If you have any questions on this case involving the abuse of two teenage girls and "Failure to Report", please contact us at 614-471-4761 and/or view our website www.justiceforkids.net for information and updates. Thank you.
James A. Whitaker
B. Kennedy Kent