SURING, WI (WTAQ) – Parents in the Suring School District are planning to make their voices heard at a school board meeting next week, as the fight continues over students allegedly being strip-searched at school.
The incident involving five teenage girls being ordered to strip down as school officials searched for vaping cartridges continues to bring strong feeling for those involved. Raelene Helminger’s daughter was one of the girls searched.
“They’re terrified to use the bathroom, they’re scared to be at school. They don’t know which way they can turn,” Helminger told WTAQ News. “There was no definitive reasonable proof whatsoever. It was just – ‘well, we think you’re vaping.’ It was guilty by association.”
While some students were busted with vaping paraphernalia, Helminger says the search of others was simply because they were friends with those who were caught.
Right now, parents are looking for answers and solutions to why this happened and how to prevent it from happening again. And they’re not getting anywhere.
“Dealing with the district attorney and sheriff department and everything else, we’re all pretty much at a loss. [We’re] even talking to the school board and demanding changes, and nothing is being done,” Helminger said.
With a school board meeting expected to discuss the strip search controversy on March 2nd, parents are preparing to make a point.
“We are going to the school board meeting. There a lot of people that are attending…Stand up for your kids. They have a voice, and they might not be told or taught what they’re able to say no to, and we are their last defense,” Helminger said. “We are hoping to change policies. We still would like to see [Superintendent] Kelly Casper fired, regardless if the district attorney won’t press charges. She still was in the complete wrong and overstepped her boundaries, and her misuse of power is disgusting.”
Helminger says their biggest concern is the safety of the kids and their mental stability, and making sure they can get an education without fear of persecution because of who their friends are.
“We are not finished. Not by a long shot. This isn’t over, and we will continue to fight for all of these kids so this never happens again,” Helminger said.
