(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
PRIEST RIVER, Idaho -Ashley Dinwiddie is just like any mom; she wants what’s best for her kids.
“They were very distraught,” she said.
But a conversation about sexual harassment wasn’t one she was expecting to have this early her six, eight, and ten year old daughters.
“That night they came home and in tears, they were crying so bad, they were afraid to go to school the next day, they were afraid to ride the bus,” Dinwiddie said.
She says it started on the school bus.
Students, she claims, said inappropriate things about the girls’ anatomy that shouldn’t be repeated.
That’s when she notified her daughters’ school.
“She said don't worry, disciplinary action has been taken,” Dinwiddie said describing her conversation with the principal at Priest River Elementary School.
But she says the problem continued and her girls came home crying again.
So she took it up with the district superintendent.
“Contacted the superintendent via email and again everything will be taken care of, policies and procedures are in place and were handled, there's nothing else we can do,” Dinwiddie said.
The West Bonner County School Superintendent tells KHQ the matter has been resolved but couldn’t go into specifics citing student confidentiality and personnel matters.
The superintendent added the investigation into the claims is case closed.
But Dinwiddie says the damage is already done.
“Not only are they afraid to go to school, they are afraid to ride the bus, but now they are telling me they had wished they never reported it,” she said, “so now I have three elementary school babies who are afraid to report to school officials that they were sexually harassed."
Dinwiddie added she will continue to not let her daughters ride the bus and that she wants the bus driver re-assigned to a different bus.