The mayor of Tofino, B.C., is alleging a conflict of interest in a school investigation into an attack on his daughter that forced her to get reconstructive surgery.
Last April, 14-year-old Josephina Law, daughter of Tofino Mayor Dan Law, was cleaning up after gym class at Ucluelet Secondary School when she said two boys started throwing pickleball paddles. She alleged one of them got aggressive – taking aim at her face.
“In the moment, I think it was just so shocking,” Josephina said. “I didn’t really feel anything.”
The girl was taken to the Tofino hospital for assessment, then transferred to the dentist.
One of her teeth was fractured and another was knocked out. Her gums were severely damaged, leaving her roots exposed. Her mouth was put in a cast. And despite reconstructive surgery, on her lip, she now has a permanent scar.
“It’s pretty frustrating. I can remember the first emotion I felt was anger,” she said.
Her father told Global News he reached out to the school principal to get a better idea of what happened. That’s when he said his concern shifted from the students to the adults.
Law said the school administrator tasked to investigate the incident is related to one of the two boys allegedly involved, and has personal ties to the other boy’s family.
“At that point, I realized that there, you know, could be a pretty serious conflict of interest,” he told Global News.
Global News reached out to both boys’ parents, but did not receive a response.
Law said the principal denied any issue with the process and that she would not disclose what disciplinary action, if any, was taken.
At that point, Law said he began hearing from other parents who took their concerns about the incident to the principal.
“Our daughter was there and witnessed everything and she is sure that it was not an accident,” one parent wrote to in a message to Law.
“It sounds like a typical schoolyard incident, but one that quickly escalated and ended up with an act of violence,” wrote another parent.
The school’s parent advisory council echoed the concerns over student safety and the perceived conflict of interest.
“The PAC is concerned enough that we will be having the topic of school safety, school culture, on all of our agendas – that will be a standing item. And … to follow up, we will hopefully be having a short weekly meeting to understand what is happening,” executive Aaron Rodgers said.
“Just to make sure that everybody is aware of the interest of PAC and of parents about what happens in the schools that we send our children to.”
Law said he contacted the school district’s superintendent to take over the investigation, but matters only got worse. He alleged that independent investigation had become a platform for the school administration to shift the narrative and blame the victim.
“It was being quickly changed to, “Perhaps maybe it was the girl’s fault,” or, “Maybe they were on SnapChat too much” or something like that. It was this kind of thing, and it just started to fill me with dread.”
Nothing has changed at the school in the four months since the incident, Law said.
The parent advisory council agreed that work needs to be done.
“What we want to do is to engage the school more often around, specifically, school culture and the safety of school culture and violence against women,” Rodgers said.
“Obviously, we can’t go back and fix what happened here – but we can try to make it better for the future, and ensure the safety of the kids going there now and in the future.”
Law said he later learned that the boy who allegedly struck his daughter with the paddle originally had received a three-day suspension, and that it was extended to six days after the district got involved. He said the other boy faced no disciplinary action.
In an email, School District 70 superintendent Greg Smyth said the district is aware of the family’s concerns, but stood by the handling of the matter.
“We believe the investigation of the incident was conducted completely, thoroughly, and impartially, and conveyed this to the family,” he said. The district refused further comment.
“It’s a public institution,” Law said. “It’s supposed to keep our kids safe, it’s supposed to educate them – and the people that run those schools are examples to the kids.”
With another school year around the corner, Josephina said she no longer feels safe at Ucluelet Secondary and is considering moving out of district – potentially four hours away.
“Even if it does change, I just don’t feel like I would want to go back into that environment,” she said.
That could mean the family has to relocate, and that the mayor take time away from the community he was elected to lead.
“That’s a very difficult decision for our family – and it has long-lasting ramifications,” Law said.
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