Bentonville School Board member accused of ‘cyber bullying’
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Bentonville School Board is set to discuss a parent’s complaint of cyber bullying of her daughter by School Board member Rebecca Powell.
Paula Mantel said Powell had called her daughter an atheist, rude and disrespectful in a Facebook post and also said inaccurately that she’d been reprimanded by school officials for her role in a demonstration by students in support of a proposal before the School Board to adopt a non-discrimination policy for district employees that would guard against, among others, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Powell has been an outspoken opponent of the non-discrimination proposal.
A photo was made of Powell’s comment on a Facebook page operated by opponents of the non-discrimination proposal. It has since been removed.
“While the statement Miss Powers made is completely untrue and shocking in and of itself, the fact that a School Board member in this district would cyberbully a student in a social media post violates the School Board’s code of conduct and ethics policies,” Mantel said.
Board president Travis Riggs said he’d intended to discuss the matter at a meeting Monday that turned into a marathon airing of comments for and against the employee policy. He said he’d bring it up June 1. Powers and her children had signed up to speak, but chose not to. She said at the time that they’d been bullied and threatened, according to the Democrat-Gazette. Powers did not respond to requests for comment on the allegation against her.
