3 Brothers Carrying AIDS Return to Florida School

Three brothers carrying the AIDS virus returned peacefully to their school under police guard Monday despite threats and a boycott by frightened parents that kept nearly half the other pupils home.

Escorted by their parents and an attorney, Richard Ray, 10, and his brothers Robert, 9, and Randy, 8, returned under a court order to Memorial Elementary School for the first time in nearly a year.

Only 337 youngsters showed up out of a projected first-day enrollment of 632. The boycott did not faze the Ray boys’ parents, who waited in line to pick them up at the end of the school day.

‘Anxious Moments’

“My kids are going to school,” their father, Clifford Ray, said firmly. Their mother, Louise Ray, admitted to some “anxious moments,” but also said the children will continue at the school.

“Ricky, Robert and Randy were very excited about their first day of school,” Ray family lawyer Judy Kavanaugh of Sarasota said after the school day ended. “They enjoyed their first day and are looking forward to tomorrow.”

DeSoto County school officials barred the boys last fall after they tested positive for antibodies to the AIDS virus.

Doctors believe the brothers, all hemophiliacs, were exposed to the virus through plasma-based medication they take so their blood will clot in case of injury. They do not have any symptoms of AIDS.

Sued School Board

The Ray family sued the school board in June, claiming discrimination. On Aug. 5, a federal judge in Tampa ordered reinstatement.

Despite assurances from health experts that a casual school environment poses no risk, many parents in this rural community of 10,000 fear their children will be exposed to acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Angry parents distributed petitions and sponsored rallies in an attempt to keep the boys out of regular classes, and called for a boycott if they did attend school.

Larry Browning, superintendent of the DeSoto County school district, said he thinks some parents might be waiting until the uproar dies down before sending their children to school.