OXFORD, Mich. – The Oxford community demanded change to leaders at a school board meeting as they called for members to step down.
It has been almost two years since the shooting occurred at Oxford High School, which was why the school board president started the meeting held on Tuesday (Nov. 14) night with an apology.
“To all of our students, our families and staff, and especially the families and friends of Hana (St. Juliana), Tate (Myre), Justin (Shilling), and Madisyn (Baldwin), we are all deeply sorry,” said Oxford School Board President Heather Shafer.
An apology that was not accepted on behalf of a community that’s fought at every turn to get transparency out of the district.
“These campus murders were avoidable,” said parent Marissa Prince.
It was not simply anger over the results of the third-party investigation but, instead, rage.
“In your apology, I didn’t hear, ‘We failed,’” said Tate Myre’s father, Buck Myre. “Because you did fail. You failed our kids and our community. Four kids were murdered on your watch and in your house.”
With a pit of grief so deep, there is no bottom.
“I keep most of my opinions to myself, and I’ve listened to the facts and the evidence,” said Madisyn Baldwin’s mother, Nicole Beausoleil. “Trying to understand why something like this could happen. I’m not here to tell you where to shove it, but I am here to remind you that you will never forget my daughter. She is not a statistic; she is not a victim of gun violence; she was not taken from me to finally do your job.”
Parents and students called for the resignation of two board members who were a part of the board at the time of the shooting and staff who were named in the 572-page report.
“You’ve failed our children, and now you have the blood of four and a lifetime of trauma for 1,800 more on your hands,” said a woman.
Despite repeated calls for resignations, none were offered.