Superintendent Tom Giovangnoli said rumors spread on My Space about a "gang" from outside the city causing a fight at the middle school with weapons on May 1 are false.
"All that happened was a fight between six [middle school] students," Giovangnoli said
School Resource Officer Jim Wagner said the rumors started after a fight started at the middle school on May 1 between two students, which then escalated when four other students joined the fight. He said teachers quickly ended the fight and per school policy, each of the six students were suspended for five days starting on May 2.
Wagner said no criminal charges were filled by the police after the fight.
During the evening on May 1, Wagner said postings on My Space started rumors that a "gang" from Euclid had entered the middle school that day with chains and had injured teachers, which he said are false.
In hopes of quashing rumors, Giovangnoli said that middle school Principal George Hammond recorded a message sent to middle school parents Sunday in a "burst" telephone call, which automates calling home phones and replaying the message, explaining that the spreading rumors were false.
Giovangnoli said that since the "burst" call, the district office has still been receiving "numerous" calls each day about the rumors.
When the six students suspended on May 1 return to school on Friday, Giovangnoli said they would go through diversity training after racial slurs where used on "each side" during the fight.
"Streetsboro has changed dramatically very quickly and its a natural process that it takes some time for people to adjust," Giovangnoli said.
Wagner said he is currently investigating the posts made on My Space. Giovangnoli said if any students can be tied to making posts that have lead to the distress at the schools, they could face between a 1 to 10-day suspension or up to an 80-day expulsion, which is the highest penalty in the district policies.
While Giovangnoli said no weapons have been brought to school buildings since the May 1 fight, he warned that he would "lean toward" an 80-day expulsion if any students were found with weapon under the guise of "self defense."
"There is no "self defense' at school," he said.
Giovangnoli said the only change made to school security since the fight has been police officers coming to the schools for student dismissal at the end of the day, though no incidents have occurred since then.