Baraboo High School: A father has been charged with misconduct against a superintendent during a graduation ceremony at Baraboo High School. The father reportedly pushed the superintendent off the stage during graduation. The media has chosen not to name the parent at this time to protect the identity of the student.
What happened at Baraboo High School?
Back on May 31, while high school graduates were being called up on stage to receive their diplomas, the ceremony was interrupted when a parent wearing a white polo shirt rushed the stage, put both his hands on Superintendent Dr. Rainey Briggs, and pushed him to the side, preventing him from shaking hands with his child. Now, a Baraboo police report details why a parent says he did it. The school district recounted the ceremony, saying a parent of one of the graduates charged the stage and was physically aggressive with Superintendent Rainey Briggs before a school resource officer and two off-duty officers stepped in.
Who was the superintendent, Dr. Rainey Briggs?
Dr. Rainey Briggs of Sun Prairie Town, Wisconsin, is a superintendent of the Baraboo School District. He was the Director of Elementary Education in the Middle-Cross Plains Area School District for the past 5 years. As an administrator for the past 13 years, he has been dedicated to helping students achieve their highest potential, providing professional development for staff, and just contributing to the humanitarian way of life, which is very important to him as an educator.
Investigations
15 investigators obtained the original police report taken the night the incident happened. In it, it details the initial interview done with the parent directly after it happened. The report says the parent told the police officer he and his child “have had past issues with Rainey and dislike him.” It goes on to say the parent “wanted to prevent Rainey from having the satisfaction of shaking” his child’s hand, “so he went onto the stage to prevent that from happening.”
When the officer asked the parent if he was sorry for what he did, the report says the parent said he was, but only for his child’s sake. The officer determined the push had been “pre-planned.” The police report says the night of the incident, Dr. Briggs left school grounds immediately after the graduation ceremony. officers did a phone interview with him the following Monday.
During the interview, the report says Dr. Briggs told officers he didn’t know who the parent was until a few days after the incident. He recalled one instance where the parent’s child was disciplined in school, but Dr. Briggs said he had no interaction with them or the parents. Dr. Briggs told officers he “has no idea why (the parent) reached the way he did.”
There have been calls on social media claiming the incident is racially motivated. Dr. Briggs is Black, and the parent is white. At this time, that motive is not substantiated by the police report or criminal complaint. A Madison based group called Blacks for Political and Social Action of Dane County, Inc raises questions about how Dr. Briggs was treated during and after the incident.
“After Dr. Briggs was pushed out of the way and prevented from doing his job, it does not appear that anyone checked on Dr. Briggs’ welfare, and he was forced to continue on amid this trauma,” said David A. Hart, president of the group. “While this incident could certainly have race neutral explanations, the treatment of Dr. Briggs looks all too familiar to us.”
The group is now calling on the school board and elected officials to apologize to Dr. Briggs “for this abhorrent behavior.” The parent is due in court for his initial appearance in August.
