I’m a mom who, in my opinion, was retaliated against by the Old Bridge School District SOLELY for reporting a hate crime, motivated by racial bias, perpetrated upon my son in Old Bridge High School with a knife. My son’s bullies started being 2 boys to, in my opinion, Old Bridge School District Administrators.
Instead of protecting my son, the perpetrators were protected. After my son endured 4 months of being called racial slurs such as “beaner”, “wetback”, “packmule”, “border hopper”, and “border jumper”, he was threatened with a Buck Hunting Knife in Old Bridge High School while told “I should shank you, you stupid packmule”.
When he reported to his guidance counselor and the school psychologist what happened, my son is suspended while the boy with the knife is allowed to stay in class, endangering other children and staff.
My son suffered a suicidal depression, was hospitalized for 9 days, and he has been victimized by, in my opinion, a vindictive principal and superintendent by having his education, graduation, home instruction, withheld for almost 2 years. In addition, I am alleging, in my opinion, at least one of his grades on his transcript has been tampered with. This is all documented by an almost 4 year paper trail. In spite of possessing a 3.8 GPA, my son has spent almost 6 years in Old Bridge High School, through no fault of his own.
As if all of this isn’t enough, the school district, in my opinion, also retaliated with police detectives and a DYFS worker sent to my home. The police detectives demanded that I stop emailing Governor Christie and that I must submit to an interrogation. They came to my home 3 times in 3 hours while the DYFS investigator was in my home. Finally, @ 9:00pm, one detective was aggressively knocking on my bedroom door, demanding through the door that “Evelyn, you better not be emailing the Governor”.
Around 9:30 pm or so, my husband were forced to go to Old Bridge Police Headquarters and they placed me in a room as if I were a criminal, with a 2 way mirror and it was taped. When I requested a copy of the dvd, I was told it was “unavailable”.
This is harassment. This is pure retaliation solely for reporting my son’s hate crimes. The sanctity of my home was violated solely because, in my opinion, a school district wanted to punish my son and me for demanding equality and justice. This is wrong.
What my son and I endured is horrific. But it already happened. What I want to do is make sure it never happens to any other child or parent again. Why? That child or parent might not make it.
I am starting this blog to tell my story. I want to call attention to the one critical factor missing in lots of shows today: The school officials response to bullying. Unless you have proof, they will deny it all the way. Parents must educated themselves if they want to defend their children. I just never thought that I would have to defend my son against school administrators. The school administrators, in my opinion, became not only my son’s bullies, but mine as well.
I have a Facebook Page:
I have a video on YouTube asking Governor Christie to intervene:
Twitter:
twitter.com/#!/EBorgono/
bulliedinoldbridge 
I have a friend who is in the middle of law proceedings after having being (allegedly) retaliated against (for reporting her daughters alleged bully). Nothing was done to the alleged bully, but she was threatened with criminal trespass.
*DISCLAIMER* First of all, please allow me to state that the following is just my opinion and I am not an attorney and am not giving legal advice.
Mike, my heart goes out to your friend and his/her daughter. It is not an accident that the victim who reports the incident is the one who is punished by being retaliated in this fashion. Your friend, the parent, was threatened with criminal trespass? Were the police called? If the police showed up, your friend can go to that precinct and pick up the police report and give it to their attorney.
If the police participated, they, in my opinion, violated the parent’s 4th Amendment protected right against Illegal Search and Seizure and committed this under “Color of Law”. In my opinion, that would make them liable under Section 1983 of Title 42 of United States Code = federal lawsuit.
Tell your friend, to “Hang In There” and to fight for their daughter. There aren’t too many parents who stand up against a school district–kudos to your friend for having the guts to do so.
In addition, they can go to Trenton and testify before the NJ State Board of Education like I did this past January 4th. My name is Evelyn Borgono and it is the third name from the top. Link:
http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/sboe/pubtest.pl?y=2012&m=January&t=A
I, like your friend, REFUSE to be bullied by these, *in my opinion*, yellow bellied school officials who attempt to use police to intimidate parents into silence. Just.Not.Gonna.Happen. If police were called, your parent can go to the televised Township or Mayor’s next meeting, (make sure it’s the televised meeting), and speak about their daughter’s bullying, how the parent was bullied using police, and ask the Mayor and the Township Council what they’re going to do about it. I did it last June 20th, 2011 and the police officers were transferred. I have not heard from the Old Bridge Police Department since. If OBPD doesn’t have a problem with me, I don’t have a problem with them. I leave them alone and they leave me alone. Expose these school officials and they will run and hide. Like the saying goes, “Nothing disinfects like a little sunshine”! Take care and good luck!
Ev