Parents call for answers 2 months after alleged hazing incident in southern Minnesota
Parents of students at Plainview-Elgin-Millville (PEM) High School in Plainview, Minnesota are continuing to express concerns about the alleged hazing that occurred two months ago.
Many parents have been attending school board meetings and demanding more answers from school leaders, according to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS sister station KAAL.
In the aftermath of the alleged hazing, PEM Superintendent Darrin Strosahl said the school district opened an independent investigation into the incident as officials wait for the Wabasha County Attorney’s Office to decide if charges can be filed based on information from the Plainview Police Department’s investigation.
RELATED: Police investigating video of alleged hazing at high school in Plainview
Strosahl says the independent investigators have not brought the report back to the district at this time.
Parents in the district told KAAL that they are tired of the lack of transparency, but fear retaliation if they speak out.
“They’re just going to sweep this under the rug. That’s what I hear from everybody, I have yet to hear somebody who says, ‘well keep at it they’ll do something about it,’” said Dawn Suntken, with one son still attending school in the district and another who has since graduated. “I think that’s a horrible attitude that we have about our schools, is that they just want you to go away and ‘we’re going to sweep it under the rug.’”
KAAL reported school board members have refused to answer any of their questions regarding the status of the district’s investigation or about what the school is doing to prevent similar incidents from happening.
The Wabasha County Attorney’s Office did not return KAAL’s call for comment on say if charges are expected to be filed.
At the time of writing this article, Supt. Strosahl agreed to answer questions from KAAL on Wednesday morning.
Check back for updates.