Florence School Board holds special meeting to discuss bullying

In a special meeting of the board, members reviewed their bullying policies and regulations due to an incident on a bus between Henry football players.


Much is unknown about the incident between Henry’s football players which resulted in an investigation by the Codington County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 17.

At the time, Henry School Superintendent Todd Obele said the school learned of “incidents involving students riding one of our minibuses.”

Obele said the incident involved “bullying/hazing” by some Henry students. Obele is also the head coach of the football team.

In a press release, Obele said school officials began an investigation and reported it to law enforcement.

“We determined that there were multiple students in violation of district policy and our code of conduct for activity participants,” he said in a written statement. “Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken. We regret that this incident happened and want you to know that we make our students’ safety and well-being of the utmost importance.”

The investigation remains open, but no Florence football players were involved. The Henry/Florence Falcons football team has 25 players on the roster and competes in South Dakota Class 9AA.

Due to the severity of the incident and the sports co-op with Henry, Florence held a special school board meeting Sept. 23 to discuss the incident and review their own bullying policies.

Superintendent Mitchell Reed started the meeting by saying that it is his job to “create a constructive and safe school climate” and gave the board a copy of their two-page bullying policy and an example of the district’s complaint form.

The policy defines bullying as an act that “has the purpose of effecting or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive academic environment or an act that has the purpose of effect of substantially or unreasonably interfering with a student’s educational opportunities.”

The document also lays out the responsibilities of the teachers, principal and superintendent when complaints are received.

In light of the incident in Henry, the administration proactively took steps to address bullying with the students by addressing upperclassmen last week, while K-10 will be addressed next week.

Before asking the board for their comments, Reed encouraged board members to support their students and constituents alike.

“We need to evaluate our weaknesses and take into account the bad things that happen,” board member Jon Kahnke said during the session. “It gives us the opportunity to step back and ask the hard questions that in the end will make us better. We may have a black eye already, and we don’t even know it.”

Board member Kathy Roe said, “We need to move forward in a positive direction and I feel it is necessary to end the sports co-op with Henry. We need to ensure that Florence and its sports programs remain a great place to send our kids.”

Another board member, Corey Rislov, agreed by saying, “Why are we covering up for Henry? This is giving us a black eye. I’m tired of it. Maybe it’s time to rip off the Band-Aid and move forward.”

After board members made their comments, Reed said, “If our kids are in danger, something must be done. But since this is an ongoing investigation, I can’t make an informed decision on this matter.”

The school board plans to discuss this matter more at the next meeting, but no action was taken at the end of the special meeting. The next scheduled meeting is Oct. 14.

For constituents that wish to make a comment, contact your school board member or Superintendent Reed directly at mitchell.reed@k12.sd.us

Watertown Current Reporter Roger Whittle contributed to this report.