METAMORA, Ohio — A Fulton County mother says she was greeted with racial discrimination while walking into her daughter’s school.
Because her daughter is still attending Evergreen Local School District, the mother wants to remain anonymous and share her story.
"I stepped through the first set of doors, me and my daughter, there was an employee standing there, and you know, I know the school's protocol obviously my children have been out there very long – she right away just looks at me and my daughter and asks if I have a bomb on me," explained the mother.
The mother, who wants to remain anonymous, is Middle Eastern. She says she dropped her daughter off at Evergreen Middle School during the lunch period. That's when she was approached by a school employee who made this comment to her and in front of her daughter.
"I was in complete shock. I was like, 'Excuse me?' added the mother. She's like, 'We just don't let anybody into the building – you wouldn't happen to have a bomb on you would you?" And I was in complete shock, I was stuttering. I said (to her,) "I am just here to drop off my daughter."
Evergreen Local superintendent Eric Smola tells WTOL 11 that the district investigated the incident and cannot talk about specific disciplinary action against an employee.
"Unfortunately, a comment was made last month by one of our teachers to a parent and her daughter that goes against Evergreen's core values," said Smola. "The exchange has been investigated, addressed and resulted in disciplinary action. While malice was never intended by the employee, we understand the insensitive nature and impact of the comment. The teacher and administration have extended an apology to the student and family involved."
The mother says after the investigation, the employee sent her an email saying, "I would like to sincerely apologize for my insensitive attempt at humor when we were both entering the school building."
"When she asked if I had a bomb on me and if I would've "humored" back and replied and said yes, would that have been taken lightly? It wouldn't – they would've had the school on lockdown, they would've had my kids expelled, probably. They would not have taken that lately if I would have humored back and I said yes," added the mother.
Evergreen schools says each year their staff takes part in a sensitivity and diversity training however, the mother says she isn’t satisfied with the result of the school investigation and she would like to see more knowledge and training on ethnic backgrounds in the future for all districts.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the incident happened at Evergreen Middle School in the Evergreen Local Schools district.