Worried school parents say they want better security
Hundreds of concerned parents poured into Lester B. Pearson High School last night for a meeting about school security a week after two 14-year-old girls were beaten up by a group from a nearby French high school.
Last Wednesday, the 14-year-old girls were kicked and punched in a park on their way back to the Montreal North school from lunch. The attack occurred after one girl uttered a racial slur at black students from Ecole secondaire Henri Bourassa.
Then on Thursday, about 20 Henri Bourassa students smashed four cafeteria windows at Pearson as Grade 7 and 8 students were inside. Four students were arrested and charged in Youth Court with assault, assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats.
So many parents turned up last night that the auditorium was full and some parents had to listen to the meeting over speakers that were set up in the hallway leading to the auditorium.
Parents posed questions to two Montreal police officers who attended the meeting, along with English Montreal School Board director-general Tony Lacroce, board commissioner Sylvia Lo Bianco and principal Terrence Quinn.
“They told us this is the first incident that has been reported to them,” said one parent, who did not want to give her name.
“I find that hard to believe. My daughter has been here five years and last year was the first quiet year.
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Worried school parents say they want better security
The Gazette
