Some Owatonna parents question district's decision to call police

Some parents and students at Owatonna High School are questioning the school district's decision to order a lockdown and call police officers on Monday after an incident prompted by what the superintendent described as racist comments posted on social media.

Police in the southern Minnesota city said initial reports indicated a few white students posted racist comments towards black students. When officers arrived at the school on Monday, they said they found students shouting and being disruptive. One student was cited for trespassing. Two juveniles, both female, were taken into custody, one has been charged with fifth-degree assault and the other with fourth- and fifth-degree assault. Neither has a prior record, according to the Steele County Attorney's office.

District Superintendent Jeff Elstad said students on Monday were "emotional," and school officials "needed to have some assistance to help bring order and safety back to our high school."

A video posted to social media showing the gymnasium after police were called shows law enforcement officers using physical force to detain students.

But Kathie Driskell, a clinical social worker whose daughter attends Owatonna High School, thought the school's response was out of line.

"There was an excessive response that demonstrated absolutely no understanding of cultural competency, trauma-informed care or knowledge of de-escalation. Your call for the cops early only escalated the problem into a near riot," Driskell, who is white, said in an email to Elstad and district board members.

She said no one from the district has replied to her emails as of Thursday afternoon.

Driskell is also upset Owatonna school leaders didn't do more right away to address the weekend social media posts.

"The fact that they weren't ready to address the hate speech on Monday morning was the cause of the problems Monday afternoon," Driskell said. "Students who were affected by the hate speech came to the office to report it — they were dismissed and belittled and then the white office staff called the cops because people of color were, quote, too emotional."

This is not the first time the Owatonna school district has been accused of mishandling racial tensions. In 2009, tensions between white and Somali students escalated in a fight involving 11 students at the high school.

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice investigated the incident and found Owatonna Public Schools "meted out disproportionate discipline for the students involved in the November 2009 incident and that the district's policies, procedures and trainings were not adequately addressing harassment against Somali-American students."

On Tuesday, Owatonna High School administrators emailed parents to say they would increase law enforcement presence and staff supervision at the school "for the foreseeable future." They also said they would enact reduced access points of entry and mandatory bag checks for all students, as well as making counselors available to students.

Superintendent Elstad said safety is a top priority at the moment, but he's also thinking about how his school is handling race.

"Racial equity is something that is one of our core commitments. And so we've begun those courageous conversations about race and, you know, we're at a point where we're still learning, we're still trying to gain new skill and understandings every day about where we're at as people," Elstad said.

Barameer Okumu, a graduate of Owatonna High School, doesn't think school officials are doing enough to address racial tension or protect students of color. Okumu, who is black, has two younger sisters attending the high school.

"If the emails and the concerns from students that were expressed for months on end were taken into consideration a little more and acted upon, none of this would've happened in my opinion," Okumu said. "I now go to North Dakota State University and I know exactly who to go to if I ever have any concerns. I know the counselors are here for me, the school police are here for me."

"Something needs to shift in Owatonna," she said.