Moving to SLO

[Cali-girl]

Hello dlkk!

I am sorry that your son had these experiences in SLO. I am certain that there are many people there that would disapprove of the way the situation was handled by the school district.

In the future, in California, each school has an assigned member of the County Sheriff's Dept on school grounds. These officers are NOT school police, but are sworn officers with the County (Los Angeles County being the exception since they have their own police force).

If your child has a concern, have him/her go and talk to the officer on campus. Ask that a report be made. The officer will then keep an eye on the alleged troublemakers. Should a crime occur, the officer can write the report making reference to past threats/problems with the other child(ren). Consequences can range from a verbal warning to an arrest which may lead to charges being filed against that child by the DA (which then results in a criminal record for that child). Juvenile Court is an expensive and serious legal consequence with Child Protective Services involved against the offender-child's parent(s). Fines, fees, Anger Management, mandatory psychological therapy, community service, and probation are all at the Judge's disposal when sentencing comes around. The parents are subject to investigation by CPS and are liable for all costs associated with the court action against their child.

A person cannot "have criminal charges filed" - it is something the DA decides to do without imput by a party.

School districts do not "typically fold" - they have aggressive county attorneys who represent them in all potential cases.

As a current SLO resident, I am sorry for what occurred to your son.

~Cali-girl

[greatbasinguide]

Me thinks a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Aren't you the one who couldn't find wonderful clothing shops in SLO? My daughters were there two weeks ago, quite a haul they made, down town too..

[ExNYC]

Originally Posted by dlkk

You should not make a judgement on my character or my family without knowing who I am. I gave "my" experience on one of the "nicest" place in town. It wasn't so nice for me or my family. It's not to say that we didn't have some good experiences too, it's just the overwhelming issues we had to deal with wiped out any positive experience we had in SLO. It was not our fault that my son was harrassed. He was picked on by "elite country club kids", because he was a newcomer. Since I am an involved parent I was at the school volunteering weekly and saw first hand the meaness of the children. I tried to resolve the issues with his current teachers and school principal. They were so afraid of a lawsuit that they were only interested in their own agenda. Just like your attitude the school blamed it on us instead of getting to the the individuals that did the bullying and harrassing. I did not threaten a lawsuit with the school district because I am not that type of person. However looking back I should have because then something would have been done. Fortunately for my son his 6th grade teacher understood and helped a lot. She knew what he was going through and helped somewhat by giving lectures on not bullying to her classroom. She understood when we pulled our son out of school the last 3 weeks of school because it was just too much to handle. You do not know what it is like until you go through this situation. It not only happened at school, but continued at home with constant harrassing phone calls and individuals trashing our house. After a year of living there we had bought a new house and just had our backyard cement laid, when some individuals decided that they would decorate our cement with raw eggs. Every summer the kids down the street (my sons classmates) would start throwing things at our house and yelling obscenities. Since their parents were gone all day at work, I guess they had nothing else to do. When I was able to get a hold of a parent to let them know that their child was calling us and harrassing us, the common response was always, "oh that can't be my child". So you know where the problem lies. I have no tolerence for bullying. And no one should. It effects the individual that it is done to more then people realize.


Things did get better for my older son in middle school and high school. I have good memories of Laguna Middle School and their teachers. We are involved parents and my husband was lucky to be able to give Laguna Middle School their new gym. I worked for the San Luis School District, with special needs kids and in PE. We are parents that are involved in our childrens lives and know and care what happens to them.

Like I said before I only gave my experience living in SLO. It's a small town with limited things to do. And if your don't have a good paying job then it is impossible to afford to live there. I have lived in many different cities and have never had such a experience as I had in San Luis Obispo.

dlkk, it makes me sad that your son had such a bad school experience. It must have been heartbreaking for you as a parent.

This happens in schools across the country. Some kids get so fed up after years of it that one day they show up for school carrying a shotgun. Fortunately for your son, he has a strong parent in his corner and he'll be fine. I hope you both find the right place in the sun for him.

[NYSD1995]

Guys, let's try to keep this thread on-topic and civil, OK?

[dlkk]

Thanks Cali-girl and ExNYC. I am so glad that that is in the past and my older son is just fine. He's a college student getting ready to transfer to UC Santa Cruz. My younger son did a lot better in SLO. He was much younger at the time (6 when we moved there), so he got to know the kids at a younger age when they are not so cruel.

[CalSLO]

Hey NWGal,

I have lived in SLO county for 42 years (my whole life except for 3 year stint in the Army overseas). I grew up in Atascadero (17 miles north of SLO) and after the Army, came back to SLO, graduated from Cal Poly and have lived there ever since. Rather than give you another point of view that represents only my personal experiences, feel free to send me an email with specific questions. My email address is CalSlo1@yahoo.com. SLO is not for everybody. Housing is the most expensive in the area. But it is absolutely beautiful, there is no big city traffic and the air is pristine. But other cities close by may suit you better. I give as unbiased as information as I can as I would like to have the same from somebody else if I was thinking of moving there. Best Regards, CalSLO