In southeast Arkansas, where Hermitage families rely on their schools to be safe havens, a firestorm of parental outrage is shaking things up.
Parents like Kiara Thomas and Brittany Merritt are done whispering about the problems in the Hermitage School District and nearby Dermott schools.
They’re taking to Facebook with raw, unfiltered posts, calling out what they see as a toxic mix of bullying, racism, inappropriate teacher behavior, and administrative cover-ups.
These aren’t just isolated complaints. There’s a loud demand for accountability, and parents are ready to bring in lawyers and higher-ups to get it.
A Mother’s Long Fight Against Neglect
Kiara Thomas, a mom of three in Hermitage, has been battling the school district for years, and her recent Facebook post lays it all bare.
She’s furious about bullying, racism, and teachers crossing unthinkable lines, including allegations of staff having inappropriate relationships with students.
She’s been on this since her twins were in second and third grade at Hermitage Elementary, when teachers let them wet themselves in class despite bathrooms being right there.
She wrote in her anger clearly.
“Your days are limited because y’all know it’s a lot undercover stuff going on at both schools. I have all my paperwork from 2022 and I’m not done!!”
Via Facebook
Thomas doesn’t stop there. She claims principals, the superintendent, and some teachers are covering up serious issues, like denying kids bathroom breaks and pitting white and Black students against each other to distract from the mess.
She even warns of teachers having affairs with each other, telling spouses to “stay on your toes.” Thomas only keeps her twins enrolled because her oldest, Lakin, wants to graduate from Hermitage High School.
Once Lakin’s done, the family’s out. With paperwork from 2022 in hand, she’s ready to escalate things with “Big People” lawyers and investigators who’ll hold the district accountable.
“I’ll let the Big People do their Big One on some of you ‘Adults,’” she says, adding she’d go to jail for her kids, nieces, and nephews if it comes to that.
Her biting sign-off, “stay Blessed ’cause ya gonna need it,” is a warning that the reckoning is near.
In a district of approximately 800 students, Thomas’s post has struck a nerve, spreading quickly among parents.
Small towns like Hermitage thrive on trust, but parents say the schools are failing that promise, leaving kids caught in a web of neglect and division.
The fire grew hotter when Ashley Nicole Edington shared another disturbing story. She wrote-:
“A kid got expelled yesterday for using it in a cup on the bus going to the game. They wouldn’t stop for him to go and he was told to use a bottle but now he’s expelled.”
Via Facebook
It’s a heartbreaking case: a student, desperate to relieve himself on a long bus ride, resorted to a cup or bottle after being denied a bathroom break, only to face expulsion.
Thomas jumped in, tying it to her broader point:
“Ridiculous that’s why I said what I said they got the Caucasian and African Americans against each other oms!!”
Via Facebook
This incident contributes to the “Hermitage Coach Allegation” narrative, where coaches and chaperones, who are supposed to protect kids, instead left one in distress and punished him for it.
Parents are asking why a child’s basic needs were ignored and why the response was so harsh.
In Dermott, Brittany Merritt’s post Shows Thomas’s anger over cheerleading and athletics.
Her allegations hit similar notes: privacy violations, verbal abuse, racism, and sloppy procedures that harm kids.
She starts with a coach breaking FERPA laws by sharing her daughter’s private health information with other students, spreading false details when her daughter wasn’t even there.
When Merritt confronted the coach, she accused the coach of lying. An investigation was promised, but nothing’s happened. “Silence. Cover-up,” Merritt wrote.
She has written statements from the kids and a 180-day window to file a complaint.
Merritt also describes a bus ride home from a game where an adult yelled at kids to “sit their asses down,” arguing no one in authority should ever verbally abuse children, no matter how rowdy they were.
Then there’s the racism: during cheer practice, a cheerleader mocked Black girls, telling them to use their “Black girl voice” because Dermott cheerleaders “sounded like bulldogs.”
The coach, present, did nothing. Merritt calls this microaggression just as harmful as overt racism, especially when ignored.
Finally, she slams the district’s drug testing process. One student’s single urine sample was tested four times, flipping between fentanyl, THC, another substance, and clean, yet the kid was suspended from cross-country.
When the mom asked for lot numbers and expiration dates required by law, the school couldn’t provide them. A professional laboratory test confirmed that the student was clean.
Merritt notes her own child and others falsely tested positive for fentanyl, raising questions about expired or faulty tests.
Though Dermott and Hermitage are separate districts, their stories feel like two sides of the same coin.
Both are small, rural Arkansas communities where parents expect schools to nurture, not neglect, their kids.
Parents like Kiara Thomas and Brittany Merritt are fighting for change in Hermitage, demanding transparency and reforms in response to community issues.
With a diverse student body and limited resources, silence could undermine trust.
They are pushing for open inquiries and policies addressing privacy and racial sensitivity, determined to fight for their children and the community.
In a small town where everyone knows each other, these families believe staying silent is a betrayal, and they are leading the charge for change.
