Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Some changes will be implemented following an incident involving a student-led mock election in Howell Public Schools.

The incident involved a student on Parker Middle School’s volleyball team who received a mock election award for being the “Laziest Peraon” (sic) as well as a copy of the children’s book “Move Your Feet”. It happened during the team’s end-of-season celebration.

The student’s mother posted on the “Howell MI Happenings” Facebook page following the incident, saying her daughter was in tears and she felt the mock election was a form of bullying. The post was removed from the site last Thursday.

The district’s Athletic Department has since reached out to the family to apologize.

Howell Public Schools Director of Communications Tom Gould provided the following statement to WHMI:

"As part of the Parker Middle School volleyball team's end-of-the-season celebration, the student-athletes voted in mock elections for their teammates. While this was meant to be fun, one of the categories was in poor taste, hurtful, and unacceptable. This was an oversight on the part of our coach, and we have taken action to ensure it does not occur again. Additionally, our Athletic Department has spoken to the family of the student who received the award to express our apologies for the award."