A firestorm of protest erupted at Tuesday's Binghamton school board meeting over an alleged strip search of four 12-year-old girls at East Middle School.

Nearly 200 community members packed the board room, leaving standing room only, to ask the school board why no action has been taken in response to last week's alleged searches.

Members of the community charged that four black female students were questioned and strip-searched by the school nurse and assistant principal after suspicion of possessing drugs. A statement distributed by local organization, Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow, alleged the girls were searched for "appearing hyper and giddy during their lunch hour."

"The children were instructed to remove their clothing, and felt shamed, humiliated and traumatized by the experience," according to the Progressive Leaders statement.

UPDATE: Read the statement released by the school board on Thursday

The school district late Wednesday afternoon issued a statement that said the matter was brought to its attention and was investigated.

"Unfortunately, our students shared that these actions have had the unintended consequences of making the students feel traumatized. We sincerely apologize for the impact this has had and are working with these families to support their children’s success," according to the district's statement. "A student may, under current law and policy, be searched in a school building by an administrator when the administrator reasonably suspects that a student’s health is in danger or is in possession of a substance that may harm themselves or others," read the statement.

Although the district's statement (reprinted in full below) said searches may involve having the student empty pockets and remove shoes or jackets, the district made no mention of strip searches. District administrators said they will review existing procedures and communicate any resulting regulations to families within the district.

Broome-Tioga NAACP President Mica Barreiro addressed the board with accountability measures he urged the board to take.

Barreiro first asked the members of the board one question: "Has anyone (on the staff) been suspended?"

Board President Brian Whalen said, "That is a personnel matter." Whalen said public comment is not for question-and-answer.

"When I was young, I was taught to lead by example," said Barreiro, who added he was asked by the community to read a list of demands of accountability.

Barreiro's demands included:

Stop the practice of strip-searching children for any reason, and especially in response to giddiness or behavioral concerns.

Removal of the assistant principal and principal at East Middle School for poor judgment, which allegedly resulted in child trauma.

Remove the nurse who administered the strip searches.

Publicly apologize to the students, their families and the community at large for violating the trust of all parties harmed by their actions.

Provide alternate instruction for the girls, at either West Middle School or home instruction, until the situation has been rectified to the satisfaction of the families.

"Broome-Tioga NAACP is appalled that they even have to ask for instruction," Barreiro said. He was then cut off by the board.

"If we don't have teachers who want to be held accountable, they should leave," said Kymel Yard, a Binghamton resident and parent.

Alicia Richard, an East Middle student, said her best friend was involved. "How am I supposed to tell her everything is going to be OK if nothing is being taken care of?" she asked the board members.

"Why are the teachers and people involved, that are employed by you guys, still able to work?" said Roseanne Vasquez, a Binghamton High graduate. "They should have been suspended immediately. This is a serious issue. These girls were sexually assaulted. The people involved should have been handcuffed, taken downtown and fired immediately."

Vasquez said she has an 8-year-old son in the district and is terrified to have him go to East Middle School. "Something needs to be done not only inside the school, but outside the school legally," Vasquez said.

Alexis Pleus, executive director of local organization Truth Pharm, told the board that being "hyper and giddy" are not common signs of substance use, and the district needs to be educated on signs and symptoms of drug use.

Sulaiminah Burns, who said she is new to the community, pointed out to the board that the alleged searches occurred on Jan. 15 — Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. "That's the day you chose to strip-search four little girls. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Ashamed. Four little black girls. Shame on you. I have children in your school district. I'm not going to sugar coat it, if that happened to my children, this meeting would be very different."

Broome County legislator Mary A. Kaminsky, a Democrat from Binghamton's 14th District, said she was appalled when she heard what happened. "Then I was appalled tonight, when I heard a mother say that she called members of the school board and no one has returned her calls," she added.

Kaminsky told the board, "I came here to listen and to learn, and I believe them, and you need to do something."

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Marlena Giordani, who is white, said she was never scared when she went to school in Binghamton because of the color of her skin. "When lunch came, it was the happiest part of your school day. Seeing four little girls that are happy and giddy is just a 12-year-old girl. I don't want any little girl going to East Middle with these people working there. It is not safe for children to be going to this school until everything changes."

The board's student representative, Aseel Mohamed, stepped away from the board table and grabbed the microphone to speak. "As a Binghamton school district, all of us have to do something. We always talk about how we want the public to see us for who we are; it is our chance to show them what we really are about."

Mohamed said he didn't know of the alleged incident until community members spoke at the meeting.

A parent of one of the girls asked why no one from the board had returned her calls. She said she filed a police report, and asked the school for an incident report. Rather than an incident report, she received a letter dated a day after the search.

The mother later met with board member Korin Kirk and superintendent Thompson.

Statement from the district

Last week, a concern regarding our procedures and application of student searches was brought to the district’s attention. The concern was immediately investigated. Unfortunately, our students shared that these actions have had the unintended consequences of making the students feel traumatized. We sincerely apologize for the impact this has had and are working with these families to support their children’s success.

Students are protected by the Constitution from unreasonable searches and seizures. A student may, under current law and policy, be searched in a school building by an administrator when the administrator reasonably suspects that a student’s health is in danger or is in possession of a substance that may harm themselves or others. These searches involve an administrator requesting a student to empty their pockets, remove their shoes and/or remove their jackets.

School administrators will be gathering to review existing procedures. The resulting regulations, which will ensure safety and personal integrity of all of our students, will be communicated to our families. Additionally, the district’s current Board Policy will move forward for review. We appreciate everyone’s support in ensuring a safe community.

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