West Contra Costa School Board Meets Over Brawl Involving Transgender Teen
HERCULES (CBS SF) - A fight at Hercules High School last month that involved a transgender student prompted the West Contra Costa Unified School District board to hold a special meeting Monday evening.
The fight, which involved three female students and one 16-year-old transgender student, broke out at Hercules High School on Nov. 15.
All four students were suspended after the incident, which, according to Hercules police, started when the transgender student hit a female student in the school's courtyard.
That girl and two others then started fighting the transgender student.
Cellphone video footage shows the students pulling hair and pushing each other. Police said the students suffered only scratches in the fight.
Board of education member Charles Ramsey has said that the fight may have been sparked by ongoing harassment of the transgender student.
The special board meeting was scheduled to discuss the fight and issues related to sexual harassment and student safety.
��We have to talk about this," Ramsey said Monday before the meeting. "What are we going to do to let people know this is a chronic problem? It's not healthy."
Ramsey said it is important to discuss worrisome occurrences that he said deteriorate the "school climate," and noted past issues at other schools including the 2009 gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at Richmond High School.
"I think we really have to address why we have these problems," he said.
The meeting was held at Lovonya DeJean Middle School at 3400 MacDonald Ave. in Richmond.
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