Mobile Parent Raises Questions About Treatment of His Children and Handling of Complaints at Morningside Elementary

MOBILE, AL (BuzzReport)— A Mobile parent is demanding answers from Morningside Elementary School and Mobile County Public Schools, alleging that years of unresolved concerns involving his children have contributed to what he describes as hostility, disrespect and possible retaliation against his family.

Gary Johnson, whose two children attend Morningside, says he has repeatedly sought assistance from school administrators and officials within Mobile County Public Schools, but believes his concerns have largely been passed from one administrator to another without meaningful resolution.

At the center of Johnson’s concerns is an incident dating back to 2024 involving one of his children, who was then in the second grade.

According to Johnson, his child was placed on a daycare van without his knowledge or permission. Johnson says his child had never ridden a daycare van to or from school and that he had not authorized the child to be transported that way.

Johnson says he attempted to obtain answers about how the child ended up on the vehicle and sought intervention from school officials.

He says he was told at the time that the school’s security camera was not functioning and, consequently, no video footage of the incident was provided to him.

Johnson continued pursuing answers throughout 2024, but says his repeated requests ultimately produced little more than assurances that someone would contact him.

According to emails reviewed by The Buzz Report, Johnson began contacting school and district officials in October 2024 and continued communicating with multiple administrators, including officials identified as deputy superintendent-level personnel.

The emails reviewed by The Buzz Report show Johnson repeatedly raising concerns and requesting assistance. In several responses, officials indicated that the information would be forwarded to a deputy superintendent, area school manager or another administrator who would follow up.

Johnson says those promised follow-ups either did not occur or failed to produce a resolution to his complaints.

Parent alleges retaliation

Johnson now believes the unresolved dispute has affected the way his children are treated at school.

He alleges that his children have experienced disrespect and what he considers targeted treatment since the earlier dispute.

“I’m now fearing some type of retaliation,” Johnson said.

He maintains that his primary objective has never been to create conflict with the school but to ensure that his children receive fair and appropriate treatment while they are in the care of school personnel.

“All I want and ever wanted is fairness, respect, and truth, from a system or school who see after my child for nearly seven hours a day,” Johnson said.

Johnson also disputes the circumstances surrounding one of his child’s academic progression.

He says the child was held back after failing one subject in the second grade. According to Johnson, the school indicated that information had been mailed to him regarding the child’s academic status and summer school instructions.

Johnson says he never received the alleged correspondence and did not receive other communication informing him that his child needed to attend summer school.

He also questions whether the academic assessment was accurate, saying that, based on his observations, his child does not struggle with the subject the school identified as having been failed.

Johnson says he attempted to contact the school repeatedly during the summer to address the issue but received little or no response.

Transfer offered amid ongoing concerns

The dispute continued into the beginning of the current school year.

Johnson says Assistant Deputy Superintendent Mr. Mixon contacted him regarding the possibility of transferring his children to another school.

Johnson said he was not opposed to a transfer in principle, but the schools and schedules presented to him did not fit his family’s work schedule.

“I didn’t mind transferring my kids, however the time and schedule was not working out for me, and I shouldn’t be forced to transfer my child from our school that is zoned for the lack of professionalism and leadership from local school officials,” Johnson said.

Johnson argues that transferring his children should not be the solution to complaints he believes should instead be addressed through school leadership and district oversight.

Disagreement over classroom placement

Johnson’s concerns have also extended to his child’s classroom assignment.

In an email sent last week, Morningside Elementary Principal Kemmavia Griffin told Johnson that the school has only one second-grade reading teacher.

According to Johnson, that teacher is the same educator with whom he has serious concerns and in whom he says he has lost confidence.

Johnson says his child was therefore returned to the classroom involving the teacher at the center of his concerns.

He contends that the decision has intensified his frustration because he believes his previous complaints were never adequately investigated or resolved.

Johnson says communications from school leadership have frequently consisted of assurances that his concerns would be reviewed, without providing him with a clear explanation of what was ultimately done.

“It’s always brushed off and no reply or if they reply, it’s ‘I will look into it,’” Johnson said.

“All I wanted or want is what’s best for my kids.”

Video raises additional questions

The controversy surrounding Morningside also involves a video that Johnson says was provided to him by another staff member or teacher following the 2024 incident.

The video shown to The Buzz Report is of two individuals in leadership and says it appears to show the school’s principal and another staff member.

However, **The Buzz Report has not independently verified the identities of the people depicted in the video or independently established when or where the footage was recorded. **

Johnson says he has informed school and district officials about the existence of the video and believes the footage raises additional questions about what was occurring inside the school.

When asked why he retained the video for such an extended period before bringing renewed attention to it, Johnson said he is not in this for retaliation on anyone, but the circumstances made him uncomfortable because he believes the conduct depicted is inappropriate in a school environment.

“It seems to be a personal thing in a school setting where kids supposedly learn,” Johnson said.

Johnson says he has repeatedly informed officials about the video during his efforts to have his broader concerns addressed, but believes the matter has not received the attention it deserves.

Another parent describes similar frustrations

Johnson’s allegations are not the only concerns raised about Morningside.

The Buzz Report also spoke with another parent who requested anonymity to protect her children, who attend the school.

The parent said she has experienced problems involving the school’s principal and a teacher and said she attempted to seek assistance but felt her concerns were not adequately addressed.

“Morningside does have some problems, I have had problems with the principal as well and a teacher there, I sought help but no one help me,” the parent said. “So I just prayed that God protect and help my kids while at school.”

The account does not independently establish that the parent’s experience is connected to Johnson’s allegations, but it adds another parental perspective regarding concerns at the school.

Parent says he has repeatedly sought help

Johnson says his efforts have extended beyond school administrators.

He says he has contacted multiple Mobile County Public Schools officials, including district leadership, and has also attempted to bring his concerns before the Mobile County school board but has not been afforded the opportunity.

According to Johnson, he contacted the school board commissioner representing his district and attempted to address the matter during a school board meeting but says he has not been afforded an opportunity to publicly present his concerns since October 2024.

The Buzz Report reviewed more than a dozen email communications between Johnson and school system officials dating back to October or September of 2024.

While the correspondence demonstrates repeated attempts by Johnson to obtain assistance, the emails reviewed by The Buzz Report did not appear to contain a definitive resolution addressing all of the complaints he raised.

That lack of resolution is now at the heart of Johnson’s frustration.

“There seems to be no concern,” Johnson said.

School system has not responded

The Buzz Report contacted Morningside Elementary Principal Kemmavia Griffin, Deputy Superintendent Brackins, Area School Manager Melissa Mitchell, Superintendent Chresal D. Threadgill and the Mobile County Public Schools Director of Public Relations seeking responses to Johnson’s allegations.

As of publication, none had provided a statement addressing the specific allegations raised by Johnson.

The lack of a response means the school system’s position regarding the allegations, including the 2024 transportation incident, the academic concerns, classroom placement, alleged retaliation and the video described by Johnson, remains unclear.

It is also important to note that the allegations presented by Johnson have not been independently substantiated by The Buzz Report, and the school system has not publicly responded to them as of publication.

For Johnson, however, the issue is no longer simply about one incident from 2024.

He says it is about whether parents can raise serious concerns about their children’s safety, education and treatment and receive meaningful answers from the institutions entrusted with their care.

“I didn’t mind transferring my kids,” Johnson said. “But I shouldn’t have to.”

For now, Johnson says he plans to continue seeking answers from Mobile County Public Schools and school officials, and seek legal advise and counsel to help address his concerns.

And until those answers come, he says the questions surrounding his children’s experiences at Morningside Elementary remain unresolved.