Purcell HS Senior Sues School District After Alleged Bullying

A Purcell High School senior, who's also a former all-state cheerleader at the school, is suing teachers, administrators, the superintendent, and the entire school district because her attorney said the district has basically had its head in the sand. Shelby Fitzer, 18, was kicked off the cheerleading squad in January. 

Her attorney said that was after she grabbed a fellow cheerleader, who had been repeatedly harassing her. 

Attorney Kelsey Dulin said her client became a target of other cheerleaders and students after she broke up with a boyfriend last September. Dulin said Fitzer was repeatedly bullied and harassed online and at school. Dulin said the Purcell School District didn't adopt a written bullying policy until three months after her client began complaining to a school counselor. 

Dulin said the school district still doesn't have a clue, and that is why this is headed to civil court. “We know that kids are going to do things, and schools can't micromanage that, but when actions are so repeated and persist and the student that is being bullied reports it time and time again, and takes it to the staff and says ‘I need help, I need relief,' you know this is bad. And I'm asking for help, and still nothing's done, that's a problem.”

Purcell's Superintendent Dr. Kathy Adams emailed News 9 a response Friday that read in part, “Appropriate action will be taken in the coming days. A motion to dismiss most of the complaints will be filed soon, and we look forward to engaging in the judicial process.”