Bullying Claim Pits Family Against School District

What began with a Mendham High School junior’s quest for a varsity cheerleading letter devolved into harassment, bullying, intimidation and retaliation, according to her mother.

Ellen Runyon claims her daughter Cassandra was subjected to an escalating pattern of abuse that began shortly after cheerleading tryouts in May 2012 and that school officials didn’t do enough to address the concerns when they were brought to them. 

School officials admitted that bullying had taken place and pledged corrective action would be taken, but Runyon questions the steps the district took.

“The issues began right away after my daughter made the cheerleading team as a member of the varsity competition B squad. Immediately the competition A kids told her that she was not varsity and if we spoke of it she was going to be in trouble,” Runyon said.

Runyon said she verified with the coaching staff that the competition B cheerleaders were in fact varsity, and she ordered her daughter a varsity jacket in anticipation of receiving her letter.

“When she got the varsity jacket she wore it on a cold day and some of the cheerleaders told her it was disrespectful to do that,” Runyon said. “They then started telling her she was too fat to be a cheerleader.”

According to Runyon, the scholastic cheerleading coaches addressed the situation, but the competition coach said unless Cassandra went to him he would not believe it.

Cassandra did eventually receive a varsity letter, but it was not without difficulty. Initially there were to be two varsity competition squads, but after some girls quit the team that changed.

“When they gave out the letters they were taken away by a parent 10 minutes later and she told the girls they were just JV,” Runyon said.

Later the school decided the lack of clarity in the situation warranted that all the girls on the competition B squad receive letters. Cassandra was given hers as she walked out the door one day in school.

Runyon said things continued to spiral downward from there and that she filed an official Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying (HIB) complaint with the school after she felt her daughter’s life was put at risk when she suffered an asthma attack.  

“There were coaches who refused my daughter the right to use her prescribed inhaler for a medical treatment of a physical disability. She has a documented asthma condition,” Runyon said. “And they cornered her and called her names and yelled at her while she was trying to catch her breath during an asthma attack.”

Accusations of Retaliation

After filing the HIB complaint on Dec. 13, Runyon said the coaches retaliated. At a meeting on Dec. 17, Runyon says the cheerleaders and parents were assembled and informed that someone filed a HIB complaint and used the situation to “single her out without calling her name.

“The kids and parents began treating us like something they stepped in,” Runyon said.

Runyon said she wanted the results of the HIB investigation made public to vindicate her daughter, and felt a letter of apology was owed as well. Runyon said she exchanged e-mails with Mendham High School principal Michael Matyas on Jan. 14 where he said, “the coaches were found to have poor judgment in working with Cassandra and that anti-bullying training and other discipline would take place.”

This same ruling was echoed in a letter from West Morris Regional High School superintendent Mackey Pendergrast sent on Jan. 31.

“The complaint alleges that your daughter Cassandra was denied immediate access to her inhaler during a cheerleading practice and was then verbally reprimanded for being upset. You also indicated that after the principal met with the coaches to discuss the allegation the coaches retaliated by bringing the teams together to discuss the meeting with the principal. After receiving the information regarding the incident the district conducted an investigation. Based upon the investigation, which included the interview of witnesses, as well as the coaches, the District found evidence of HIB. As a result it was recommended that the coaches receive enhanced anti-bullying training.”

But according to Runyon, despite repeated attempts to verify the corrective action had taken place, she was stone-walled by the district when she pressed for details.

“I am trying to vindicate my daughter. I wanted them to admit they were in the wrong and issue a letter of apology to Cassandra,” Runyon said.

Pendergrast declined comment on this story.

From Bad To Worse

Runyon said issues did not improve after the HIB report and contact with the school administration. She said things continued to get worse and that her daughter’s life was once again put at risk when she was forced to walk from the Middle School to the High School because she had no ride to get to practice.

“My daughter had to walk alone on a cold night because she was the only one left without a ride. The school completely mishandled the situation. She is an asthmatic, she is female and she had to walk the entire way alone at night,” Runyon said. “They should have provided transportation. She had to miss school the next day because she was sick from the walk.”

Runyon said rather than address the issue with the coaching staff, Matyas turned the problem back on her.

“I was very upset asking where my daughter was? Why was she the only one walking? I was reprimanded by Mike Matyas,” Runyon said. “He said I was out of line and I was yelling at the girls. I was emotional, but I don’t think I was yelling. I was worried about my daughter.”

Shortly after that, Runyon said the team held a bonding sleepover event at the home of one of the team members. According to Runyon, she contacted Matyas again when she found out coaches were going to be present at the Feb. 1 overnight event.

“I was told I misunderstood and no coaches were going to be there,” Runyon said. “But when I went to pick up my daughter from the sleepover I saw coach Brittany [Roman]. Not only did she sleep over, but she stayed in the room with the girls. And that is totally inappropriate.”

Legal Action

Runyon said that the school ignoring her requests developed into such a pervasive pattern that she hired an attorney and is planning action against the district, but her goal is not to make money off the exchange.

“When I hired a lawyer it was not for money. I wanted Cassandra to be vindicated and I wanted her varsity letter. The letter is taken care of,” Runyon said. “The coaches should have to take responsibility for their actions and a public apology is definitely wanted because of the coaches retaliation.”

Runyon also said that she wants proof that the corrective action prescribed in the HIB findings had taken place.

“We have no evidence anything was done and the school has not responded to my requests for information and has not complied with my attorney's requests for information,” Runyon said.

Despite all of the difficulty and “hell” her family has been through, Runyon still holds out hope there can be resolution outside of the courtroom.

“I was really hoping they would come around and do the right thing so that we would not have to go to court,” Runyon said. “We have not yet gone that far although that is still a possibility in the future.”

The attorney for the Runyons declined to be interviewed for this story.

School district anti-bullying coordinator Dr. David Leigh declined to comment on a student matter.

Board attorney Robert Tosti said he was unaware of the Runyons' bullying claim.