Today we received an email from the school district with incredible news: Dr. Justin Blasko, Superintendent of the Monroe School District has been placed on administrative leave and will be subject to an independent investigation. The district will hire a third party to “gather facts about certain situations currently facing the District to help the Board make decisions in an informed manner,” board president Jennifer Bumpus wrote in a message to the community Saturday afternoon. The investigation’s timing is unclear, but we hope to learn additional details in the days ahead.

This is obviously just the first step in a longer journey, but it's an important step in the right direction. It demonstrates, perhaps for the first time in a long time, that they are committed to hearing from students, staff and members of the community who have experienced harassment, intimidation and bullying or who have other safety concerns which have gone unaddressed.

To those of you who supported this petition: THANK YOU. Sincerely. Your help was absolutely crucial to these concerns being heard and we deeply appreciate that help.