The St. Johns County School Board has expelled seven St. Augustine High School students in connection with a wild September bus loop brawl, according to a report.
The board voted to remove a 15-year-old female student from campus for a year after she contested her expulsion at a rare public hearing on Tuesday, according to Action News Jax.
The proceedings are normally held in private, but the teen’s parents were accompanied by an attorney and requested a public airing, the station reported.
The girl told the board that the fight started after three students “jumped” her and that she had been the subject of harassment for weeks prior.
Video of the incident aired by the station shows a chaotic melee that was only quelled after 14 SJSO units and seven school administrators intervened.
“In all my experience, I’ve not seen an incident that escalated and was as violent as this one, ever,” Superintendent Tim Forson said.
The district reported that three school employees — including a dean — were injured in the brawl.
The board said the dean pulled the 15-year-old girl aside to calm her down, but she began grappling with her to break free and rejoin the fight.
“I was trying to get my shoes and my phone to call my sister and my dad, but nobody would give me my phone back,” the teen said, Action Jax reported.
The girl told the board that she and her sister had previously complained of harassment to administrators but no significant action was taken.
She will attend the Gaines Alternative School, where kids are sent after significant violations of district policy, including violence.
The student’s father told Action Jax that he was saddened by the incident.
“When you go to school, you go to learn. You’ve got to keep all of this B.S. aside,” he said. “Kids need the chance to just live their lives and be kids.”
