A secret society of snooty mean girls – named after a 16th century Russian death squad – bullied a fellow student out of their $42,000-per-year boarding school because they didn’t like the plans she was making for the prom, according to a shocking new lawsuit.
Former honors student Tatum Bass claims Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn., did nothing to stop 13 popular seniors in a decades-old, school-sanctioned social group from harassing her – and then expelled the athlete when she missed classes because of her anxiety.
The suit seeks reinstatement and unspecified damages.
Two doctors recommended she take a medical leave from the tony, all-girls school because of her anxiety – but the school kicked her out anyway, according to the lawsuit.
“On November 18, the Bass family learned that MPS . . . planned to expel Tatum from school, allegedly for unexcused absences and violations of school rules,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in New Haven federal court.
The blow allegedly came after months of torment from a group of girls known as the Oprichniki – named after Ivan the Terrible’s feared secret police.
Tatum, who was in student government and in charge of prom planning, earned their ire after she suggested a multi-school prom – contrary to what the girl gang wanted for the end of the year gala.
The clique then began their reign of terror – insulting Tatum on Facebook and with text messages, according to the lawsuit.
Tatum – who suffers from attention deficit disorder – was called “retarded” at a school dance, according to the court papers.
She went into such a meltdown, the lawsuit alleges, that she cheated on an art history exam – and then immediately reported her wrongdoing to the head mistress, Katherine Windsor.
Windsor is also named in the suit.
“This incident . . . was unprecedented for her,” said the lawsuit.
When she and her parents returned to get her belongings after she was expelled, they found them stuffed in a dorm room corner and a “For Rent” sign stuck on her bed.
“This is a hard-working kid. I hate to see this happen to her,” said her father, William Bass, of Beaufort, SC.
“We kept trying to make things right with the school, and it’s very frustrating.”
The school released a statement, saying it would be “inappropriate” to discuss the lawsuit.
“We believe that a comprehensive hearing of the facts will result in the exoneration of our school,” according to the lawsuit.
Additional reporting by Kenda Williams