The new school bullies aren't children - they're mums and dads

By Melissa Fyfe and Henrietta Cook
Updated April 20 2019 - 1:13pm, first published 1:00pm

Furious Facebook posts, abusive emails, school sit-ins, menacing behaviour: the bullying of staff by parents is becoming increasingly common and can have devastating consequences.

This case will be a key legal test for how the parent-school relationship is conducted in the age of social media. Illustration by Sam Bennett
This case will be a key legal test for how the parent-school relationship is conducted in the age of social media. Illustration by Sam Bennett

When something inside you breaks, the most basic matters can be overlooked. Take, for example, the case of Queensland construction worker Matt Barreno*. One Sunday evening in May last year, the 48-year-old flew out of his house in such a fury, he barely registered his outfit: grey flannelette pyjamas and some worn sandals he calls slippers. In that moment, there was only one thing that mattered: confronting the principal of the local high school at her home, a 20-minute drive away.

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