'Stop White Hate' sign outside Bellingham school has some parents on edge
BELLINGHAM - Some parents are on edge after a sign that said "Stop White Hate" was discovered along the street entrance of Bellingham High School over the weekend.
School Superintendent Peter Morano sent an email to parents this week saying "...it is deplorable, and we denounce it."
Police say a couple of residents took it down when they saw it and brought it to the police department.
"I don't know what led to it, I don't know why they put it up there, I don't know if it's a parent that's upset because of the way things are going," said Lt. Kevin Ranieri.
He said since the spot was at a distance from the high school building, closer to the main road, there are no security cameras where the sign was propped up on a tree. "We were hoping somebody could have given some information, somebody could have seen who put it up," he said.
"There are hate crimes right, and they have hate crime rules in the school, so enforce them," said Dana Carney, whose daughter is a student.
Another mother, Tiara Bacchus, said it's not the first time her children have told her about racial tensions at the school. "These boys had a rope, and they just kept on saying the N-word, and my daughter, she got up and she went to the guidance counselor," she said.
Police say school resource officers never heard about that. "The nice part about having the SRO's up there is we want the kids to go to them," Ranieri said. "They're visible, they're there all the time...so if they had a concern by all means, they should go talk to them."
Bacchus is now considering a change "...to see if I can find a surrounding school that works better because at this point it's just heartbreaking, for their safety," she said.
