A high school superintendent in Oklahoma is in hot water over some alleged comments she made about female students' attire.
At the end of school on Aug. 21, the first day of the new term for public schools in Noble, Oklahoma, Superintendent Ronda Bass allegedly took aside a group of girls at Noble High School to discuss inappropriate outfits she'd seen in the hallways, local news outlet KFOR reports.
“The first question I asked was how many of you in here believe that there are female students on the campus today that are dressed completely inappropriate,” Bass says in a video interview with the outlet. “Most of their hands went up.”
According to a student witness, however, that's not exactly how it went down.
A senior, Stephanie Stewart, shared with KFOR her version of the exchange: "The first sentence was, ‘Have y’all ever seen any "skanks" around this school.’ Around the end she said, ‘I don’t want to see anyone’s ass hanging out of their shorts.'" Stewart also said that the next day at school Bass asked her to bend over to check the length of her skirt.
Another female student shared a similar version of the incident with local news outlet KOCO.
"She’s like, ‘Have any of you guys seen anybody around here dressed like a skank?'" Katelynn Hill told KOCO, adding, "[Bass said,] 'If you can feel your skin on the bleachers then you’re showing your ass. And I don’t want to see anybody’s ass hanging out of their shorts.'"
Bass denied using this language, per KOCO. She told KFOR she wants her female students to be thought of as "classy."
Parents have started a Change.org petition calling for Bass to resign. "Ronda Bass Barrett has continually proved to demonstrate poor conduct in regard to the students and our community," the petition reads, in part.
"We have a no tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment in Noble Public Schools and that does not exclude our superintendent. Our schools should be a safe environment which fosters positive body image and self esteem," the petition goes on to say.
Bass was not immediately available to comment to The Huffington Post.