In the southern part of California's Central Valley, a sensational article was recently published regarding high school bullying and the "punishment" that has occured some three years later. Were the bullies who bound up a ninth grader and hit, kicked and humiliated him criminally prosecuted? No. Were they expelled from the district? No. Were they paddled, made to re-paint the high school or pull up weeds for a year? Of course not. In fact, most of the kids were simply transferred to another campus for a year and those who didn't graduate returned back to the same school they attended when the incident happened.

But this isn't the most outrageous part. The real punishment was reserved for the taxpayers in Kern County. A $260,000 settlement was paid out when the boys' parents sued all of the bullies, their parents and of course, the school district (also known as the taxpayers). While no one likes a bully, many in the community are scratching their heads wondering how a large wad of cash, where HALF of the monies went to lawyers, did anything at all to punish the perpetrators.

Bullies return to school while the taxpayers and their homeowner's insurance policies take a beating. The only winners in this sorry saga appear to be the attorneys involved and that's not justice at all.