District issues release on incident at Garfield School

The Ponca City Public Schools District issued this release shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday regarding an incident which occurred Tuesday at Garfield Elementary School. No information about the nature of the incident was included by the district. However, a report on the Ponca City Police Department’s log for Wednesday indicates police are investigating “inappropriate behavior between two students.”

The safety and well-being of our students is the top priority of the Ponca City Public School District.
There was an incident at Garfield Elementary on Tuesday, December 3. An immediate and thorough
investigation was conducted, and multiple agencies were notified and are involved. Parents of all parties
involved were notified and informed of the situation. The district cannot provide specific details, but swift
action was taken in order to protect every student. The safety of our students will continue to be the top
focus each and every day.

After a request for more information, Ponca City Public Schools Public Information Coordinator Mary Ladd responded with this statement from Superintendent Shelley Arrott:

“We provided our local media with our response to a parent’s complaint to Channel 4.  The parents provided the details, and it is a violation of FERPA for us to give specifics. That is basically all we can say at this point.”