School says students are cutting class, having sex and doing drugs.
BROCKTON, Massachusetts (PNN) - February 20, 2024 - Committee members at a Massachusetts school have requested that the National Guard be brought in to deal with unruly students “causing chaos”.
Violence and security concerns have been raised at Brockton High School, with 11 students arrested and criminally charged just last week after a brawl in the school.
Committee members Joyce Asack, Tony Rodrigues, Claudio Gomes and Ana Oliver requested immediate assistance last week “to prevent a potential tragedy”.
Their letter said, “Over the past few months, our high school has experienced a disturbing increase in incidents related to violence, security concerns, and substance abuse. The situation has reached a critical point, more recently we had an alarming 35 teachers absent, underscoring the severity of the challenges we are facing.”
The letter added, “We are formally requesting that you reach out to Governor (Maura) Healey and request the deployment of the National Guard to assist in restoring order, ensuring the safety of all individuals on the school premises, and implementing measures to address the root causes of the issues we are facing.”
Cell phone footage obtained by NBC Boston shows students fighting in a stairwell at the school.
Other videos seen by Boston 25 show two individuals brawling inside what appears to be a classroom.
The two students throw each other around the ground, exchanging kicks and punches with each other while a crowd gathers to watch the violence unfold.
Several individuals can be seen throwing punches and attacking each other during the melee.
Earlier this month, teachers voiced their concerns during an emergency committee meeting and shared their experiences.
The Enterprise reported that teacher Eleri Merrikin told the meeting, “They’re having sex and doing drugs and cutting class in empty classrooms.”
While Julie Fairfield added, “I don’t even like to leave my classroom anymore, I usually wait until after school to go to the bathroom.”
While secretary Cheri Mazzoli recounted being trampled by a mob of students racing down a hallway to watch a fight that had broken out among students.
Mazzoli said, “We are in chaos, we need help. The crowd came down the hall so quickly that I got swept up, not by the students fighting, but by the students that were rushing to watch and video the fight.”
The school is the largest high school in the state with an enrollment of around 4,300 students.
In May of last year, two students were stabbed during a brawl that broke out just outside the school.
The altercation saw five people rushed to the hospital, with another victim then being stabbed inside the hospital.
Five people were arrested in connection with the high school and hospital stabbings.
During a press conference on Monday, committee member Rodrigues said, “We need to take our schools back in control and make sure our students have a safe learning environment because what's going at in the high school is disheartening and (students) are losing precious learning time and (some students) are causing chaos.”
Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan opposes the proposal, saying, “We need to give our administrators the tools to keep order in the school, including amending certain state rules and regulations that currently hamper these efforts. National Guard soldiers are not the answer. We have had school police working effectively and safely at the high school for decades.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued a statement Sunday saying she is “committed to ensuring that schools are safe and supportive environments.”
Healey added that she has been in touch with local officials about the concerns at Brockton High School.