SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Another round of videos have surfaced showing wild fights inside Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology.
The same school faced the same controversy just a couple years ago. Parents are now voicing concern that excessive fighting coupled with a lack of security could lead to something worse.
One student was caught up in a fight while sitting at her desk -- the teacher didn’t step in to help.
“Unbelievable. I mean, to have children fighting,” a parent said. “And nothing gets done about it? Make it make sense to me.”
A father of one student involved shook his head when his daughter told him this was one of three simultaneous fights and there had already been seven that day.
School board president Charles Hicks said the videos are disappointing. Hicks and two of his sons graduated from the school and he has another son in 11th grade.
“We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to incidents like this and we are investigating the incident you showed me,” he said. “With a school as large as ours I think this is more of an anomaly than a recurring event.”
In addition to the fighting, security is also a concern for parents. Local 4′s Jason Colthorp was able to walk through an unlocked front door to be greeted by a woman at a table. The security officer was further down the hall.
“It wouldn’t be no problem for a child to commit a crime or bring a gun or a knife or any weapon into the school because they don’t check for anything,” a concerned parent said. “They don’t have a metal detector.”
The district said it is taking steps to improve security and curb fighting.
A parent Local 4 spoke with met with the principal Tuesday and said she was not given the same assurances.