CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of Kanawha County school parents wants the system to publicly release the video tapes of a middle school classroom.
The parents of Horace Mann Middle School students protests during the noon hour Tuesday outside of the offices of the Kanawha County Board of Education on Charleston’s East End.
“Release the tapes. Release the tapes,” the group chanted.
Charleston police filed battery charges last week against teacher Anthony Wilson, 45, of Beckley, and aides Walter Pannell, 51, of Charleston, and Lillian Branham, 65, of Beckley, Criminal complaints allege the non-verbal students were grabbed, pushed and abused verbally. The charges are misdemeanors.
Vankisha Hill’s son, Nehemiah, was one of the alleged victims. She was at Tuesday’s protest. Hill said releasing the tapes is an opportunity for the school system to be up front with the community.
“I just want BOE to release the videos to see how transparent they really are,” Hill said. “This should have never happened to any student, any child. I am here to get justice not only for my child but for the other children and parents as well.”
MORE See BOE detailed response statement here
Hill and three other families have filed a civil lawsuit against the school system and others in connection with case. Her attorneys have reviewed a few hours of tapes but have said there’s more to review. Hill said a public release of the tapes could bring positive reform.
“If they release the tapes to the media and show what was actually done, I really do think BOE may take some type of responsibility for the staff that they hire,” Hill said.
Kanawha County Schools released a detailed statement Tuesday saying state law prohibits the public release of tapes that have students in them with limited exceptions.
The school system’s also said it believes it has responded appropriately to the situation. Horace Mann’s principal and vice principal viewed video tape from May 12 when they became suspicious about what was going on in the classroom.
“They started to have a suspicion of abuse due to the noise level in the classroom, the agitation in the classroom, the unusual behavior the student was exhibiting, and the touch that had previously looked like patting that was observed through the door window,” Tuesday’s statement said.
After receiving further information it reviewed footage from May 4.
“That discovery was likewise immediately communicated to the police, and child protective services as an addition to the May 12, 2021 report, in addition to the parent of the child in the video,” the school system said.