Jerryn Johnston walked down the middle of Highway 69. It was a winter evening; he was wearing his black wrestling sweats. Johnston was at a point where he wanted to die, his mother said.

Johnston, an openly gay senior at Gilbert High School and part-time ISU student, has been the victim of several discriminatory acts since he came out of the closet in the fall of 1999, said his mother Sue Ellen Tuttle, communications specialist for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Johnston was not able to be reached for comment.

Actual hate crimes – including numerous loosened lug nuts and five punctured tires on Johnston’s car – began Dec. 8, said Tuttle. The crimes led to Johnston’s attempted suicide.

“We are just fortunate that [a family friend] drove by, recognized Jerryn and tried to help,” Tuttle said. “He’s at a stress level where he wanted to die.”

Tuttle and her son confronted the school board on Monday to express their concern about the harassment and make a request that action be taken.

“I do not think that the administration at Gilbert [High School] understands what he’s going through,” Tuttle said.

They asked for three things: that sexual orientation be added as a protected class in the school’s nondiscrimination policy; that discriminatory language be removed from the school’s handbook; and that a $500 reward be offered to those who had information leading to finding those behind the vandalism of Johnston’s car.

James McKean, Gilbert school board member, said Johnston has raised “very difficult issues.”

“He brought some potentially criminal issues to light,” McKean said.

McKean said the board will take the proposed change in the discrimination policy into consideration. Even without sexual orientation being added to the discrimination policy, the acts against Johnston violate current harassment policy, he said.

“The absence of including sexual orientation does not mean there is not a policy that is being violated,” McKean said.

Tuttle said she knows changing policy can be a long process, but wants the harassment to end.

“What frustrates me is that we aren’t finding out who’s doing this and getting it stopped,” Tuttle said.

McKean said he thought the administration was doing what it could to help, and believes, overall, the administration is doing an excellent job with communication.

“I believe we are taking the appropriate steps that we can take to avoid re-occurrences with Jerryn and other students as well,” McKean said. “We do value our students’ safety and comfort when they’re in and around our campus.”

Tuttle, however, said she is disappointed with the school’s lack of action.

“Two of the board members have daughters in my son’s class. This is someone that they know,” Tuttle said. “[The board] said virtually nothing, they made no response, they wouldn’t commit to anything.”

McKean said it may not be legal to use public money for the $500 reward Tuttle and Johnston requested.

“We are in the process of investigating the legalities of that,” McKean said. “As of [Tuesday night] we have not received a response that indicates that was legal, so we aren’t in the position of doing something illegal under the code of Iowa.”

Jonathan Wilson, a Des Moines attorney and former Des Moines school board member, has offered to match whatever reward the school district puts forth.

Wilson said he is familiar with the kind of harassment and discrimination Johnston is facing because he is also gay. When he came out about his sexuality, he was not re-elected to the school board, he said.

“If an award of $1,500 is on the table, it will test people in keeping quiet,” Wilson said. “It would go a long way in stopping future harassment because the board would be committed in putting a stop to it.”

Tuttle has also approached the police regarding the crimes, though she questions the priority given to her complaints.

“It has seemed like they’re not highly motivated to solve the case,” Tuttle said. “One example would be the first time they talked to Jerryn – they hadn’t even taken a statement.”

Police were reluctant to investigate another instance when Johnston’s tires were punctured because it was a Sunday and they were “short staffed,” Tuttle said. The family had to insist officers come.

Tuttle said Gilbert High School has also provided her son with positive experiences.

“I believe that the teachers care about Jerryn,” she said. “I just want the harassment to stop. I want the crimes to stop.

“I don’t believe any of this is malice – I believe it’s ignorance.”