‘I should have felt safe’: Myers Park HS sex assault survivor delivers powerful message to CMS board

CHARLOTTE — About two dozen Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district parents and students protested outside the Government Center in uptown Tuesday night, demanding that the principal at Myers Park High School resigns amid public backlash for how the school handled claims of unreported sex assaults on campus.

More than 100 parents, students and friends held a similar protest outside the high school a few weeks ago, clenching signs and megaphones.

Two former Myers Park High School students sued CMS, claiming they were sexually assaulted near the school and officials never did anything.

Once they went public, the former students said more people have come forward with similar stories, and said they discovered that CMS has repeatedly covered up cases of sexual assault. They want the district to do more to protect them and told Channel 9 the resignation of principal Mark Bosco will be the first step.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, a sexual assault survivor delivered a powerful message to the CMS school board about her experience at Myers Park High School. She told the board that she was raped in the woods near the school when she was 14.

“I may be just one person standing here but make no mistake, I have the voice of every reported case of sexual assault at Myers Park High School behind me today,” the student told the board. “I can’t speak for all of those cases, but I can tell you why I didn’t report what happened to me -- because Myers Park High School told me there was nothing they could do to help me. I should have felt safe at Myers Park High School and I did not.”

She received a standing ovation from the crowd following her emotional speech.

In a previous statement, CMS told Channel 9 that staff are trained every year on how to handle claims of sexual assault but could not speak about the principal or any of the staff at Myers Park High School due to privacy reasons.

Principal’s contract uncertain due to ‘oversight’ by district

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the board approved contracts for several principals, but Mark Bosco was not one of them. According to public records, Bosco’s contract ended on June 30.

Channel 9 reached out to the district for more clarification on his employment status, and received the following statement:

The recommendation to renew Principal Bosco’s employment contract should have been included in the recommendation that went to the board for approval on 7/13. Due to an administrative oversight resulting from Mr. Bosco being designated as on leave in our Human Resources information systems, his file was not identified for inclusion into tonight’s recommendations for approval. His contract will be recommended for board approval at the next regular board meeting.

Mr. Bosco was not recommended for non-renewal at any time. Had that been the case, notice of non-renewal would have been provided no later than May 1, and board approved by June 1, pursuant to statutory requirements.

Some Myers Park students want Bosco out over his handling of sexual assault cases.

“After everything he has said and done to the students at Myers Park, we would hope that he would understand why we want him to resign,” said student Katrina Carson.

Bosco has been a CMS employee for nearly 20 years.

Channel 9 has asked CMS why Bosco was on leave and what his current status is in the district, but has not yet received a response.

(WATCH BELOW: ‘This is bigger than me’: Former CMS student who reported rape pushes for change)

‘This is bigger than me’: Former CMS student who reported rape pushes for change

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