N-word-filled rant sent to Platte County schools students. How will district respond?

A hate-filled Google document full of racial epithets was shared among students and staff in the Platte County School District last week.

Approximately 225 secondary students and staff from Platte County High School, Barry School, and Northland Career Center accessed the document, which included a three-page posting that repeatedly used the N-word.

The profane text was horrific, but it was not written by the Barry student who created the document, Superintendent Michael Reik said.

Because of privacy laws, details about the student’s punishment are unknown, and the investigation is ongoing to determine if others should be disciplined.

The document was deleted within 19 minutes.

“This was a dynamic, ever-changing document,” Reik said. “The vile, racist hate speech was posted and deleted several times within those 19 minutes.”

This week, Reik has said the right things. But simply acknowledging what happened isn’t enough.

About 16% of the district’s approximately 4,300 students are minorities. They must be protected from hate speech, racism and bigotry. The district should deliver a forceful denouncement of racism and an apology to students hurt by the post.

The work can’t stop there. The school board, with input from parents and the district’s diversity and equity committee, should enact policies that will hold students accountable for racism and hate speech.

The current discrimination, harassment and retaliation policy does not include specific penalties for bigoted remarks or actions.

Nina Matthews, the mother of a 15-year-old African American female student at Platte County High, said the girl and some of her schoolmates were traumatized by what they read.

“Our babies are hurting,” Matthews said.

After several meetings with officials, Matthews was not satisfied with the district’s response. And she shouldn’t be.

On Friday, the district offered only vague statements in its initial response, stopping short of denouncing the racial attack. Officials released a more detailed letter this week — but only after news reports surfaced.

The most recent correspondence did acknowledge the post was racist.

For his part, Reik offered a forceful response to The Star. And counseling services have been provided to students. But Reik and school board president Sharon Sherwood have not apologized directly to students negatively affected by the post.

“The district has every opportunity to effect change,” Matthews said. “But they have made it comfortable for bigots (to spew hate). All students need to feel safe and supported.”

Reik said the district does not tolerate racism, hate speech or inappropriate, disruptive behavior.

But at times, it’s been hard to tell what Platte County schools stand for.

Near the end of the last school year, nooses were found in the boys’ bathroom at Platte County High. Local law enforcement officials determined the incident was not a hate crime, and they did not pursue criminal charges.

A district inquiry reached the same conclusion.

“While this act was not intended to target a person or group, the imagery of a noose has significant impact,” district officials wrote. No kidding.

During this school year, the district began trauma, diversity and equity training for staff. While the district has taken needed steps, Reik acknowledges that there is more work to do.

Nationally-known speaker Michael McGill Jr. has worked with the Platte County district on race and equity issues. He credits the district with addressing equity work in a strategic and productive way also says that it’s important for all officials to call out racism, bigotry and hate speech.

“When we stay silent on these matters of life, we become complicit in the demise of our fellow neighbor,” he said.

To move the district in the right direction, the superintendent must denounce racism and offer an apology for failing to keep minority students safe from hateful rhetoric. And the school board must develop a policy that holds students accountable for racist hate speech.