Cashmere School District Addressing Reports Of Racial Bullying

The Cashmere School District could have final results of a third-party investigation into allegations of repeated racial bullying against a Black student. 

The investigation and the bullying were reported earlier this month by the Washington statewide publication Crosscut. 

The Crosscut story says the graduating black male student reported his peers would repeat a specific slur referring to his race at least 100 times a week. Sometimes it was directed at him and other times it would be dropped casually by other students as a swear word. 

The Cashmere district designated three coordinators to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination. 

Cashmere high Principal Craig MacKenzie told Crosscut that the school is awaiting a final report. 

The district's website has a Notice of Nondiscrimination that says the district does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. 

Less than 1% of students at Cashmere High School are Black, while roughly a third of the students are Latino.  

The graduating black student told Crosscut that some of the boys who use the racial slur around him are Latino.  

The Crosscut story was written by Wenatchee area free-lance writer Dominick Bonny.