'Chaos,' Death Threat To Lenape Middle School Principal: CBSD Officials Respond

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Central Bucks School District officials sought to smooth over tensions with the community and reiterate their commitment to students after "chaos" at Lenape Middle School on Friday and a week of student protests against a teacher being placed on leave. The middle school principal was emailed a death threat Friday night, officials said.

Last week, a small group of students began protesting because teacher Andrew Burgess was placed on leave May 6. School officials have not said why Burgess is on leave. Students and some community members claim Burgess was being punished for his support of LGBTQ+ students at the school, which the district denies.

The small group protested throughout the school day on May 10, 11, and 12, according to Superintendent Abe Lucabaugh and CBSD Board President Dana Hunter.

In a letter, Lucabaugh and Hunter addressed the Lenape Middle School protests and several other issues going on in the district. It is signed by both Lucabaugh and Hunter, though the letter often uses "I" instead of "we."

Lucabaugh said his comments at last week's school board meeting, and details about recent issues in the district, have been misrepresented or misreported.

"What happened at Lenape that day was blatantly inappropriate, and to make matters worse, it has been reported inaccurately, particularly on social media," the letter said. "Here is a summary of the facts."

Lenape Middle School Protests

Lucabaugh said the "narrative" around Burgess' leave "quickly circulated that the action was taken because of the teacher's advocacy for LGBTQAI+ students. This characterization is categorically untrue, and disturbing," Lucabaugh said.

"Like any organization that employs a work force, we cannot comment on specific personnel matters," Lucabaugh continued, "however, I can tell you that all faculty and staff must adhere to a process for reporting potentially harmful events and situations, a process that exists to support student safety. We are currently conducting an evaluation of this particular situation and expect to have a determination on the teacher’s employment status in the coming weeks."

Some students began a protest on May 10 to demonstrate their support for Burgess, and stayed outside all day, the letter stated. According to Lucabaugh, the school tried to work with staff and a non-Central Bucks School District community member to figure out how "to best support our students’ right to engage in civil discourse while not disrupting the educational environment."

Lucabaugh added that students who do not report to class are marked as having an unexcused absence.

On May 11, the group of five to six students assembled outside again and stayed outside until dismissal, the letter said. "A social media post by an outside group was distributed to the community, asking for community members to organize in cars and make their way to the Lenape parking lot to honk horns and demonstrate while school was in session," Lucabaugh said. He said the district notified law enforcement "to assist with minimizing the disruption."

"Community members arrived in cars, bypassed security and proceeded to honk horns and wave signs while students and teachers were in classes (one car even drove over the curb to do so). Eventually, security was able to gain control and move the vehicles and demonstrators off the property."

On May 12, Lucabaugh said, the small group continued their protest outside school. District officials asked the students to come in and speak with the principal, assistant principal, and school counselor. Lucabaugh said "the same adult who was with them on Wednesday (the community member who is not a CBSD parent) stopped the students, suggesting they shouldn’t proceed inside without her."

That parent, Larissa Hopwood, said she "just wanted to make sure they were making the decisions that they felt most comfortable with."

Hopwood told Patch she was a Central Bucks parent until earlier this year, when "the health and safety measures during the omicron spike and the district’s lack of accommodations for my kid who has a chronic health condition forced me to make the difficult decision" to enroll him in another school, she said.

Hopwood ran unopposed on Tuesday as a Democrat for a Doylestown Borough Committee nomination.

Lucabaugh said school administrators at Lenape let Hopwood in to speak with the students and administrators, because "she presented herself as the gateway to the students who our administrators sought to support, and because the goal was to meet with the students to forge a solution."

Hopwood said the meeting seemed productive. "This is the result you want from protests," she wrote on Facebook. "Meaningful change. We shall see how that plays out in the coming weeks & months."

Hopwood said the assistant superintendent asked her to leave after about an hour since her son is not enrolled at the middle school currently. "I was reluctant, but I didn’t resist," she said.

The district said Hopwood "disagreed with central administration’s stance that she was not a welcomed and vetted stakeholder in the process, and eventually . . . left the building."

Soon after, school officials said, Hopwood and her child, "along with one CB West high school student," came to the outdoor cafeteria at Lenape "with pizza, pretzels and candy to lure students who were inside to come outside" during lunch time.

"The group had protest signs telling the students inside the school cafeteria that they were permitted to come out for free pizza and snacks if they took one of this group’s flyers about the teacher on paid leave," officials said.

Hopwood said the Central Bucks student "had worked with local businesses in support of the protestors to provide pizza, candy & bubble tea." Hopwood said she and her son returned to the school, but sat in her car.

She said the students "who were inside decided not to come back out, which is fine. There were a couple of other kiddos who came outside at lunch to protest. They decided to bring the pizzas to the back of the building where kids were eating lunch, not to rile kids up or ‘lure them out’ as the message [Principal Geanine] Saullo sent to parents said."

School officials said the offer of pizza and snacks sparked "chaos" as students inside the building started pushing to get out, and students who were eating outside tried to get in "to avoid what was becoming a disruptive environment."

"Inside the cafeteria, students were pushing each other up against the windows, falling over each other, banging on tables and engaging in recording the protestors," the letter continues. "A student with special needs who is non-ambulatory, along with the child’s PCA, were placed in a very dangerous and potentially harmful situation as they attempted to distance themselves from the escalating behaviors caused by this disruption. Additionally, other students with special needs became unsettled by the disruption of these events, resulting in the need for medical attention and other emergency interventions."

Saullo "attempted to re-establish order and stop students from filming the protestors," the letter says. "Using a microphone, she asked the students to stop and be seated, and she demanded that students delete any video or photos they had taken of the incident, as there was to be no further bullying. This was done in an attempt to keep students safe."

Lucabaugh said Saullo received an emailed death threat that night, and said "vitriolic, hateful, profanity-filled phone messages and emails (were) sent to our administrators."

Hopwood said much of Lucabaugh's email "was misinformation from someone who was not there." Hopwood said police officers arrived and talked to her, adding that she left by her own decision and was not escorted away from the property.

In the letter, Lucabaugh and Hunter also addressed a planned protest Wednesday.

A "community group" put a message on social media "encouraging Lenape students to engage in a day of silence tomorrow, Wednesday, May 18th, and to paint the letters SOS on their faces, which represents 'Students over Saullo,' a reference to Lenape principal Geanine Saullo," the letter says.

"Such a message clearly seeks to disrupt the learning environment, and severely (and completely unfairly) impact the principal’s ability to maintain order in her capacity as principal."

"As I clearly stated at the Tuesday, May 10, 2022 Board meeting, every single student in Central Bucks Schools deserves to feel seen, heard, cared for, included, accepted, respected, and loved," Lucabaugh continued. "Students deserve to view their schools as a safe space to learn and explore the world around them. What happened at Lenape Middle School last week, and what is being encouraged to happen (Wednesday) by community members is absolutely not the way to achieve that; rather, it is an abomination and an attempt to use students to promote a one-sided narrative."

"This is precisely what I meant when I stated that the adults need to do better. We all have an obligation to teach our students how to engage in dissent by modeling the productive, nuanced and respectful behaviors that will someday allow them to successfully manage the inevitable conflicts that will arise in their lives. Navigating conflict, being willing to listen, and seeking to understand the premise of others’ perspectives (especially in the politically and culturally charged environment in which we all live) has never been more crucial, and we as the adults need to be accountable for our students’ growth by committing to mature, civil behaviors that reflect the basic decency and humanity we seek to instill in our young people."

Lucabaugh and Hunter's letter also addressed several other issues in the district.

"Rent" Performance At CB West

Lucabaugh said the musical "Rent" was approved for Central Bucks West drama students to perform, despite rumors that the district denied it.

"In April, it was reported that "Rent," the musical, was being denied as a school production for the CB West Harlequin Club’s fall 2022 performance because the district does not support anything related to homosexuality and other themes portrayed in the show," he said. "Once again this is not true; in fact, "Rent" was approved once the process in place was actually followed, and we are excited to see the phenomenal performance, as our theater programs are truly spectacular!"

"Rent" has a number of LGBTQ+ characters, and some characters battle drug addiction and HIV/AIDS.

Pride Flags Removed From Classrooms

Lucabaugh also confirmed the district has decided that any LGBTQ+ pride flags must be removed from classrooms. He said they have become divisive.

"...while we can agree to disagree on this one, the reason for the decision is that the flags, once thought to be a statement of support, are now a flashpoint for controversy and divisiveness in our school buildings. These flags now represent more than a symbol of a safe space for our LGBTQAI+ students; instead, they have become a symbol of taking sides,'” he said.

"These flags have taken on a contentiousness that is pulling our focus away from the support and belonging our students deserve, and they are dividing our community at a time that calls for healing."

Human Growth and Development Curriculum For Trans and Non-Binary Students

Lucabaugh said the district has been accused of "excluding students who identify as transgender or gender fluid from the Human Growth and Development curriculum."

"This is inaccurate," he said. "This is a curriculum that is taught in 4th through 6th grades that focuses on the anatomy and physiology of male and female bodies, as well as the social and emotional changes that occur with a young person’s physical development."

"This year, we received requests for students to engage with this curriculum according to the sex that they identify with, rather than the sex they were physiologically born," Lucabaugh continued.

"In an effort to be as inclusive and respectful of every student and family, we made the decision to devise a new way of delivering this important curriculum," he said. "We understand that some of our elementary schools had already begun the curriculum before we made that decision, and we do apologize for that; however, when we are made aware of a need, we have an obligation to address it. Moving forward, we have provided families with details of how they can access this curriculum, and we will continue to seek ways to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all our students and their families."

In closing, Lucabaugh called for the community to "coalesce around the basic tenets of decency and respect."

"After all, our students are watching, and regardless of whether we agree, we all must operate within that awareness," he said. "I appreciate your time in reading this, and I will continue to engage with you in an effort to refocus our work on the academic and emotional health and wellness of all students."

Library Book Policy Discussion

The letter, just shy of 2,700 words, does not mention another ongoing Central Bucks discussion about potentially inappropriate library books.

Some parents and community members want certain books, such as Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer," Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," and George Matthew Johnson's "All Boys Aren't Blue" off of district shelves. Critics of these books say they are too violent, or too sexually explicit, for their children to potentially see.

Others say the books are a valuable resource and even a refuge for students, allowing them to process their own experiences and see themselves reflected in fiction.

There is a special school board policy committee meeting Thursday on library policy.

The policy meeting is at 6 p.m. at the district's educational services center, at 16 Welden Drive, Doylestown. The district said there will be "up to one half-hour for Public Comment" and an hour for the meeting.