Good afternoon students,

Please know that the PBHS administrators, Board of Education and I remain committed to providing a safe school community.  We are all very upset and concerned about the recent incidents of physical aggression in our high school. I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that we will not tolerate this type of behavior.  Violence, rudeness, and disrespect have no place in our high school.

We are all also concerned about the role of social media and how student posts are escalating the drama and anxiety.  These types of behavior are already disruptive to the learning environment in our school.  Sharing and posting videos of fights on social media further escalates the situation.  I was so disappointed and embarrassed to see some of these videos posted on the Mid-Hudson News online because I don’t believe they are representative of the majority of our students.  I am also horrified because the students involved in these fights had their privacy violated.

These posts make it easy for others to make horrible assumptions about our students and school district. We believe that these videos are providing incomplete, incorrect, and misleading information that is unfair.  Therefore, Mr. Hopmayer and the entire team of school administrators and I are directing you not to engage in sharing and/or posting these fights online.

Today I  learned that one of our students has an Instagram account that encourages all of you to post the fights on it.  I have notified law enforcement and they will be seeking a subpoena to determine who started this account.  Please know that all students will be held accountable as per the Code of Conduct.  We are thankful to the majority of you that do the right thing every day and put forth your best behavior every day.

We are also telling you to stay away from these situations as they are unfolding because you are putting yourself and others at risk by getting in the middle of an already dangerous situation.  The “mob mentality”  is making these situations worse and more disruptive.  It is also very disturbing to see students clapping and/or cheering when these fights occur.  

We are again thankful to the majority of you that do the right thing every day and put forth your best behavior and academic effort every day. Please do your part to improve the school climate so you can all enjoy the end of the school year and all of the special events and milestones that come with it.  

Donna Geidel

Interim Superintendent