Mother arrested after being told to stay off school property

by Trish Robinson (Subscribe to Trish Robinson's posts) Feb 29th 2008 11:00AM

I have spent many hours at the school, in the principal's office or in parent-teacher conferences. Having a child with ADHD means that I might not always agree with the school or I have to be a little more assertive in dealing with some teachers to make sure my son's needs are met. However, it has never gotten so bad that I have been banned from the school.

A mother in Katy, Texas, has behaved so badly that she was told never to return to her daughter's elementary school. When she came onto the school property with her daughter, the police arrested her.

Lisa Babin was sent a letter by Katy ISD which warned her not to return to campus and if she ever needed to go on campus, to request permission. The letter stated, "Due to recent disruptions that your presence, demeanor and actions have caused at Schmalz Elementary, it has become necessary to restrict your access to facilities and staff."

Babin denies the charges, claiming the principal just doesn't like her because she asks too many questions. However, a quote from the school principal, Karen Ladner, states that Babin had been threatening school officials for years. Ladner even claims to have a recorded conversation of Babin which says, "You know, God help (Principal) Mrs. Ladner -- if I walked up to her lying on the ground, knowing CPR, I could just take my long black heel and jab it deep into her chest."

Babin denies the charges, but I'm not sure how she can do so when the conversation is recorded. Babin also claims that the principal just doesn't like her. I have had many disagreements with school officials over the years, because I have always been against medicating my son. However, no one ever banned me from the school and threatened to arrest me if I returned. The real victim here is Babin's daughter, who still goes to school there and has to be torn between what she's hearing from her mother while still attending the school.

Is there really anything that would convince you that Babin should be allowed on school property and might be a scapegoat of the school principal?

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Comments (12)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SKL 2-29-2008 @ 11:17AM

I don't know. There are definitely some parents who need to be banned. Once I was volunteering in a third grade class when a mother came in, uninvited and unannounced, and started screaming and threatening her son and some other kid for having had a fight on the playground. The entire class was stunned for some time afterwards; needless to say, this compromised the teacher's lesson plan. The teacher informed me that she had done this multiple times. Perhaps not coincidentally, her kid had the worst behavior problems in the classroom.

Seems sad to have to limit parental involvement, but you can indeed have too much of a "good thing."

Jen Henry 2-29-2008 @ 11:54AM

We had one mother in our school district that was banned from the property. She was allowed legally to pick up her child each day but could not enter the building any further than the lobby. This came after she left threatening voicemails at strange hours of the night on not just the main phone line but the teachers classroom as well. She would pound on classroom windows during the school day and yell obscenities at the special education teachers working with her child while they were teaching other children!

She is the only parent that they have ever had to ban in such a fashion though. I can understand why you would have to do it though.

http://furoreandfrenzy.blogspot.com

Holly 2-29-2008 @ 12:34PM

I have a 2nd grade daughter with ADHD and I am strongly against medication due to a kidney removal when she was a baby. I do not condone rude behavior at all to any staff at the school but there have been times where I had to bite my tongue. I have read many things about ADHD. Why did we not have this when I was in school? My husband still can't sit still but he is a very successfull engineer. Hailey has no problems at home because it is my way and she follows my rules but at school she is a totally different person because the structure is not there. I really do feel for this mother because it seems like there is no clear answer. I just refuse to let some medication change my strong willed child. She will be a succesful someday and as a mother I had to back away from what goes on at school. I only go into the class every month and when I am in there she behaves fine.

CLM 2-29-2008 @ 3:42PM

You know, it's always so hard to call when Texas is involved. On the one hand, I went to high school in Houston and saw some pretty insane parental behavior. On the other hand, I have been on the receiving end of some pretty outrageous behavior by two different (Texas) school principals.

That being said, I'm inclined to go with the school on this one. Primarily because it provided Babin with the opportunity to obtain permission to come on campus. So it wasn't a wholesale ban. If she really felt she had been wronged, she had recourse through the school district and the board. That she chose to simply disregard the letter speaks volumes about her (probable) behavior in general.

Katy Parent 3-02-2008 @ 12:01PM

I have 3 children that have gone through Schmalz Elementary in Katy Texas and have never seen eye to eye with Karen Ladner. She is difficult and unapproachable at times. However, I have always been able to deal with our differences without threats. Lisa Babin is a menace at this school and in the community. She has proven herself unstable not only at Schmalz but at other community events. I actually applaud Karen Ladner and KISD for taking the action against Lisa Babin-there is no telling what she is capable of.

Katy Mom 2 3-04-2008 @ 1:55PM

I attended Schmalz Elem. with Mrs. Babin and had to move because of her harassment towards me. I am glad to see Mrs. Ladner is finally taking some action against her it only took 5 years. . I feel sorry for the children. CPS has already taken them once. Then need a safe, stable and loving environment at home. I believe Mrs. Babin needs some psychiatric help

;) 3-19-2008 @ 9:50PM

Mrs. Babin deserves every bit of what has happened to her. She has threatened and disrupted teachers and the Principal at Schmalz for 5 years already and finally got what she had coming. I know from my past experiences with her that she is very manipulative and loves to instigate situations that could be handled otherwise. She is a very negative person who thrives on teachers' common mistakes such as accidentally counting a question wrong, a mispelled word on an assignment, etc. Instead of coming forth and talking with the teacher straight out about the mistake, she went straight to the Principal or even the administration. She loves to point out the wrong all the time, never giving compliments or pointing out the positive. When such a parent walks down the hall and people cringe, obviously that person has made a bad name for herself. I knew her when her son wasn't even in school yet and her behavior was already unacceptable. She is blaming how his ADHD is handled or perceived by the staff when that is not the real issue. The real issue is that she needs some medical attention before her kids start portraying her characteristics. When I knew her daughter she was so happy in school but when with her Mother, she was an entirely different kid. As for Mrs. Ladner, I know for a fact she is a great Principal who loves her students and treats each one as her own child. She is wonderful with her staff and parents. She is all about each student succeeding and performing to the best of his/her ability. On Channel 2 News the journalist portrayed Mrs. Babin as the victim.....so untrue. And the daughter obviously tried to cry but ended up smiling...she was obviously told to cry. Lisa is not the victim...all the staff at Schmalz are victims. I really feel sorry for her kids.....they are the ones suffering.

katydad 8-29-2008 @ 2:36AM

Katy Mom2 - are you the PTA officer who moved because she smoked marijuana before meetings? No one made you move, you did that yourself and if we recall correctly, weren't you the one who had the police called when you attempted to run over Mrs. Babin and her infant son with your mini-van? You might want to get your facts straight and tell the truth. Why don't you tell everyone just how you and your husband work out your personal "deal" in order for you to get furniture? You surely did brag about that all over the neighborhood!

;) are you the pregnant teacher at SES who only let the children potty three times a day or are you the one who discussed her miscarriage during journal time? The Babins son doesn't have ADHD, so what do you know? You, too, might get your facts straight. There hasn't been a teacher, nor staff member who hasn't received some kind word, compliment or gift from the Babins over the 7 and 1/2 years they've been at SES. She has volunteered for years at that school and many, many teachers, staff, parents and children adore her. She's always willing to do the "crap" jobs that everyone else is too good to do and never ever received any thanks for that. No, just put down and laughed at. They surely do point out the teachers mistakes, you teachers at SES are full of excuses, it's okay for you to make a mistake but certainly not the children and you will mark them to death on that ridiculous behaivor card. Too bad the teachers didn't have to carry one of those. Mrs. Ladner is a lousy principal who loves to bully and threaten her teachers and staff. She only loves herself and instigates a lot of the drama and negativity at SES. And, if you don't kiss her shoes, she targets you. There is a lot of staff turnover at SES and they just want to get away from Ladner. Just how many assistant principals has the school gone through in 7 years? You know, it's Easter time and as the three of you last posters attend church for the first time in a long time, you might want to ask God for his forgiveness. There are two sides to every story and you only tell one. Go ahead and hate the Babins, if it makes you feel good about yourself. You've proven very well how people in KISD are go alongs to get alongs and how they target people who are not going to jump off the bridge with them if that's what everyone else was doing. Funny, how no one has mentioned that this case never went before the Judge and was dismissed!

The Real Katy dad 3-24-2008 @ 3:53PM

I just Want you to know Lisa Just Because you post on a different Blog As a Katy dad It does not Make you one.

justcurious 3-25-2008 @ 10:13AM

Lisa Babin and her multiple personalities strikes again........

justcurious 3-26-2008 @ 10:22AM

Katydad, You're claims are outrageous! Someone tried to run this Babin person and her infant son over?? Where is the police report? Is Babin such a "saint" that she let that incident slide?? "There hasn't been a teacher, nor staff member who hasn't received some kind word, compliment or gift from the Babins over the 7 and 1/2 years they've been at SES. " Obviously her "bribes" to ignore her outlandish behavior didn't work. 7 1/2 yrs huh...and how old is her oldest child? 5th grade? What the hell was she doing spending her days at a school where she didn't even have children attending? Something is terribly wrong with this family............

kristenjurek 3-31-2008 @ 11:54AM

I have never had any issue with Lisa Babin. It is apparent she struggles but, is it not our duty to treat others as we would like to be treated? Why is it we feel we have the right to bash her all over the internet? I have heard the stories, I have talked to HER about them once. There are ways to handle it...blogging and gossiping is not the way. Her children are involved...what about her husband? Do we not have anything better to do than think about them and spend our time this way? I am no saint but, I think I never had a problem because I politely nodded when she spoke to me, treated her how I treated everyone else, I believed what she said no matter how outlandish it was. I found that in this treatment I found an acquaintance which I have never had trouble with...who is happy to see me and when I run into her around Katy, we have a short chat and move on. I urge all of us to stop this and give her the respect she deserves as a human being.

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