Gonzales Junior High fight investigated

A bathroom brawl last week between two Gonzales Junior High School students, that allegedly landed one of the boys in the emergency room, was caught on film and shared through social media. The video in question showed one student lifting the other and subsequently dropping them head first onto the ground.

Gonzales ISD Superintendent John Schumacher said a “thorough investigation” has been conducted, and the consequences are being determined by GJHS administration.

“They’ll determine that and go from there,” he said. “We want all of our children safe.”

The GISD superintendent did not give any details on the fight or the consequences, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

“What we’re trying to do is create a culture of respect and how to handle things and how to handle conflict in more productive manners,” Schumacher said. “That’s going to take some time. I was a middle school principal for seventh and a half years and middle school kids are more reactive. It’s sad to me that we had a student hurt.”

“Kids who feel safe learn more,” Schumacher added. “That’s something we’re going to really make sure we are mindful of. In any situation similar to this, you can’t control every situation that occurs, but you want to do what we did and that is thoroughly investigate, got both sides, gave due process with each of the students to make sure we know where we stand. Then the proper consequences are given out. I think the junior high has done a good job of doing their very best to not allow something like this to occur again in the bathroom or any setting like that. I know that. I know they’ve taken steps to eliminate that.”

Editor's note: The story is ongoing. More will be reported as information becomes available.