The scourge of bullying

I'm absolutely astounded at the lack of moral fortitude of school boards, superintendents and principals who throw their hands up in exasperated defeat when dealing with bullying ["Stopping bullies is no child's play," News, March 10].

It's obvious that the ugly, unspoken issue school districts face with bullying has more to do with the fear of lawsuits from the bullies than it does with figuring out how to deal with them. I'm dumbfounded at Plainview-Old Bethpage Superintendent Gerard Dempsey's comment: "I don't expect that we will put in place something that has a zero-tolerance guarantee."

This isn't about protecting our children; it's about protecting the school districts from lawsuits. As a parent, I'm done hearing the moronic excuses, ineffectual "solutions," and the oft-quoted "it's complicated" and "there's nothing more we can do." If these well-paid superintendents and principals with doctorates and master's degrees can't figure out the appropriate actions to stop physical assault, verbal threats and emotional abuse, then they should donate a portion of their salaries to hire a psychologist who can. It's obvious that the bullies now have the school districts running scared.

Jo Ann Sweezey, Huntington Station