Bullying allegations at metro-east high school spark petition, district response

March 27, 2026 Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the full name and title of the Mascoutah School District 19 superintendent.

Mascoutah community members and school district officials addressed allegations of bullying and inadequate intervention circulating on social media at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.

The district largely reiterated that it takes bullying seriously and takes action against it, but that student privacy laws prohibit much information from being disclosed. Meanwhile, community members said they still have concerns. Namely, they said they find it troubling that speaking out led to court orders against two students.

The conversation was sparked by a petition authored by a group of high school students that reads: “repeated incidents of bullying and cyberbullying … have not been addressed with the seriousness, urgency and accountability required to protect student well-being.” Multiple individuals said it garnered approximately 120 signatures.

The petition called for action regarding alleged bullying by a specific group of high school students. It said these accused students, who were named in one version of the petition, took place in-person on school grounds and on digital platforms.

It gained widespread attention — including past and present Mascoutah families sharing their own experiences with bullying — after Mascoutah High School senior John Robert Wall, who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, shared the petition in a local Facebook group.

All student names, including those of the alleged bullies and petition signers, were redacted in Wall’s post, obtained by the Belleville News-Democrat.

“Me speaking out was not an attack on Mascoutah, but instead a wake-up call: A wake up call that we can do more, say more and be better for the students of the future,” Wall said to the board. “If bullying really isn’t tolerated, that needs to be proven through action. Until then, nothing changes.”

In letters to families and at Tuesday’s meeting, the district rebuked claims that students involved in the petition were threatened or silenced and stressed that it takes bullying seriously.

“Silence does not mean inaction,” Superintendent Dave Deets said on Tuesday. “We cannot and will never discuss student matters with the public. However, I can say that our administrative team did not ignore this and had already opened up an investigation prior to any social media post.”

Deets also said administrators spoke to more than 50 students while investigating claims in the petition, the administration is discussing other solutions with student groups and the district had legal counsel review its response. He reiterated that there are multiple reporting options.

Erin Frazier, the mother of one of the students accused in the petition, said her daughter did not repeatedly bully other students. She said the petition is the result of groups of high school students not getting along — which the district addressed — and relationship drama.

“All of this is just high school bull crap that’s been taken too far,” Frazier said.

One of the accused bullies mentioned in the petition requested — and was granted — emergency stalking no-contact orders against Wall and one of the petition’s authors, whose mother, Kyna Williams, spoke at Tuesday’s meeting.

Frazier also filed a petition for, and was granted, an emergency order of protection on behalf of her daughter against Williams’ son.

In the petitions for the orders, one of the alleged bullies repeatedly denies the allegations and both state the petition and its circulation led to a hostile school environment and social media comments that suggested they should be subject to violence.

Wall and Williams’ son were barred from attending school under the orders. On Monday, a judge granted a motion allowing Williams’ son to be able to return to school provided he follows a safety plan. As of Tuesday, Wall had not returned to school.

Williams said at Tuesday’s meeting that multiple students wrote the petition, but her son was “singled out” and the petitions for the orders contained false accusations against him.

“He is a child, and he is not responsible for the comments that adults made, he’s not even responsible for the bullying that took place, and 120 students signed it saying not just that it happened to me, but I witnessed it happen to other people, other students that I care about,” Williams said.

Frazier said she was told by school administrators on March 13 that an investigation yielded no evidence that her daughter engaged in bullying.

She said she filed for an order of protection against Williams’ son because it was her understanding that he spearheaded the petition. The order is necessary, she said, to prevent future false claims against her daughter that could escalate further.

Wall said he circulated the petition, but didn’t have a hand in writing it. He stressed that he censored the alleged bullies’ names when he shared the petition on social media. The post was not intended to bring sanctions against one group of students, Wall said, but to draw attention to a wider pattern he and others noticed in how the school responds to bullying.

“When people try to bring attention to real issues, it gets brushed off, ignored or even turned back on the students who are speaking up,” Wall told the board Tuesday. “Instead of students feeling safe speaking up, they’re starting to feel like it’s not even worth it – or worse, that they’ll get in trouble for it – or worse, that they’ll get a restraining order (against them).”

Williams questioned how the district’s investigation did not show proof of the alleged bullying.

“We’ve had many individuals come out who have written their victim statements. We have numerous accounts of social media, cyberbullying, one in which racial slurs such as ‘you are an Oreo’ and a ‘monkey’ were included by the students who were named in this petition,” Williams addressed the board. “However … we’re constantly told there’s no proof of bullying.”

Frazier said her daughter has family and friends who are African American and she has no knowledge of, nor could she imagine, her daughter using such terms in a derogatory way.

How to report bullying at Mascoutah High School

Deets said there are multiple avenues for students to report bullying at Mascoutah High School:

• Speak to teachers, counselors, social workers or administrators directly
• Gaggle Speak Up for Safety tip line allows Mascoutah students to confidentially report bullying, threats and other safety and student well-being concerns. Report by email at speakup@msd19.org, or by voicemail or text to 618-566-6104. The tip line is always monitored by Gaggle safety professionals and routes tips to district personnel; the district is immediately notified of serious situations.
• Students can access student services by completing a Google Form in their “MHS” folder. There’s a new form through which they can contact the main office.

“To our nearly 4,300 students, we are here for you,” Deets wrote in a previous statement to families. “If you feel, hear, or see something that isn’t right, please reach out to an adult you trust. We can only address what we know, and your voice is the most important tool we have in addressing issues that may arise.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or emotional distress, support is available via the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org/chat.

This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 5:30 AM.