Galt School District Approve Nearly $13,000 For Bullying Workshop

GALT (CBS13) -- The Galt Joint Union High School District is spending nearly $13,000 on a consultant to talk to students about bullying and other issues.

Galt Superintendent Daisy Lee defended the cost for Littleton, Colo.- based consultant Stu Cabe, saying bullying is a real problem in her schools. She said the school district did look at other options but that this program was successful when used in February 2010 for freshmen and sophomores at the two high schools.

The executive director of a similar program based in San Francisco told CBS13 they could do the same service for about $5,000.

"We really want to look at the results," Lee said. "If it makes a change for even one student, two students, a small group of students, I think it's money well spent.

The superintendent says the school is having financial trouble -- they were on a furlough day when CBS13's Ben Sosenko spoke to her Wednesday -- but said the money for the consulting service comes out of funds given to the principals of each high school for the year, and it's their decision how to spent it, with the approval of the board. They agreed this was the best way, she said.

The money was approved at the school board's meeting Tuesday night.

"We really need to look at what will be the effect of bringing such kind of training rather than just looking at the dollar signs," Lee said.

Lee also said it has the support of all the parents she's spoken too, including Gaylene Crouch who spoke in favor of it at Tuesday night's school board meeting.

"It's a great program," she said. "As soon as I went to the parent meeting and heard about the program and researched it, it's been very well researched. The presentations are excellent."

Cabe will speak to an assembly at Galt High School on Oct. 24 and then hold workshops with student leaders from both schools during a five-day visit.

Lee added that Cabe's visit was just one part of the school's efforts to curtail bullying.