A Michigan father is outraged at the liberties taken with his child while she was at school.
Jimmy Hoffmeyer is father to a 7-year-old little girl, Jurnee. Jurnee, a student at Ganiard Elementary School, came home from school one day with a chunk of her hair missing. He was understandably annoyed to learn a classmate had cut her hair, but he did what parents do and took care of it. He took Jurnee to a local salon, where she got an asymmetric cut to take care of things.
Jimmy was completely floored when, days later, Jurnee came home with another chunk of her hair missing. When he talked to his daughter to find out why she'd let a classmate near her with scissors again after everything they discussed last time, he learned that a teacher was responsible for the cut this time.
A Michigan father has transferred his daughter out of her elementary school after a series of appalling incidents. Jimmy Hoffmeyer's daughter, 7-year-old Jurnee, came home from her day at Ganiard Elementary School on March 24 with 2 to 3 inches of her hair cut off. She said a classmate used her scissors to cut her hair on the bus ride home.
Jurnee told her father that a classmate had cut her hair. He was upset at the lack of supervision but decided to handle the situation at hand. He took Jurnee to a local hair salon and got her an asymmetrical haircut. The salon even offered free haircuts until her hair evened out.
Jurnee went back to school. Two days later, she came home with her hair cut again.
"She was crying," Jimmy told the Associated Press.
"She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut. I asked what happened and said 'I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair.' She said 'but dad, it was the teacher.' The teacher cut her hair to even it out."
Jimmy began making phone calls, but he was getting no answers. An assistant he'd spoken to had apologized for the incident, but he was told the principal was out of the office until after spring break. In the meantime, Jimmy spoke with the Mt. Pleasant Police, but he didn't file a report.
Some believe that race may have been a factor in this incident, as both the teacher and the other child involved were white. Jurnee is biracial, with a Black father and white mother.
"I'm not one to try to make things about race," Jimmy said.
"I've pretty much grown up with only white people, myself. It's hard to come to any decision when you don't have answers to why it was done."
The district superintendent, Jennifer Verleger, eventually contacted Jimmy and offered an apology. She also offered to send Jurnee an apology card in the mail.
"An apology card to a 7-year-old who is humiliated and has to be around her classmates like this?" he replied.
In a statement, Jennifer Verleger acknowledged the district was aware of the incident. She confirmed the child's teacher was aware of a library employee's plan to cut Jurnee's hair and that the haircutting was performed without permission from her parents or other school administrators.
"Regardless of their good intentions, these actions were unacceptable and show a lack of judgment on the part of our two employees," the statement read.
"Both are being reviewed for further disciplinary actions in accordance with our school policies and procedures. I have personally apologized to the family on behalf of the school district."
Jimmy isn't satisfied, hence the decision to transfer Jurnee elsewhere. That decision doesn't mean he's done asking for answers, however.
"I still want to know what justifies a teacher cutting a child's hair without their parents' permission? Any of this could have been resolved with a phone call," he said.
"She doesn't understand what's wrong with her hair."
