School Board Responds to Grand Jury Bullying Report

The Millbrae School District Board on Tuesday approved a response to the San Mateo County Grand Jury’s report on school bullying policies.

The report found that most county districts have no independent bullying policy and lack an enforcement policy specific for bullying.

The Millbrae School District is one of 18 school districts in the county that have a harassment policy that includes bullying. On March 28, the board expanded its bullying policy to include cyber-bullying to comply with a new state law.

“At the time of the (Grand Jury) survey, Millbrae district policies were out of date to the new legislative language,” Superintendent Linda Luna said.

As part of the Grand Jury’s recommendations, Millbrae has agreed to participate in a meeting with representatives of each school district to develop a standardized bullying policy. The district will also communicate its bullying policy to students, parents and staff at the beginning of each school year.

The district sends out a packet on the first day of school that includes information on bullying enforcement, Luna said.

“At , there’s a counselor, and so that school is able to address [bullying] more thoroughly,” Luna said. “Once we’re aware of a situation, our administration is on it immediately.”

The punishment for bullying depends on the degree of harassment and if it’s a repeated offense, she said. “But if we don’t address it, it will continue,” Luna said.

The board also discussed the .

Mojarro left the district for a job in the Mill Valley School District.

Before the meeting, Luna said she doesn’t think the district will fill the vacancy by the start of the school year.

“Right now, we’re being mindful and committed to finding the right match for the position,” she said.

David Carini contributed to this report.