Anti-Gang Proposal Draws Mixed Reviews : Schools: Centinela District officials express concern that having former gang members on campus might romanticize gangs.

A proposal to have Community Youth Gang Services work with Centinela Valley Union High School District administrators to quell gang activity on campus met with mixed reviews this week.

With the support of school board members Pam Sturgeon and Jacqueline Carrera, officials from Community Youth Gang Services addressed the board Tuesday and asked that the district team up with the agency to help prevent gang violence in surrounding neighborhoods from spilling onto the district’s campuses.

But the request was met with skepticism from top school administrators. Some questioned whether the agency, which employs former gang members, might romanticize gang activity.

At the recommendation of board President Ruth Morales, the trustees agreed to discuss at the March 13 board meeting the formation of a committee to further study the proposal.

Community Youth Gang Services, an East Los Angeles-based civilian gang prevention program, works closely with local police and sheriff’s deputies, as well as officials in other school districts, including the Los Angeles Unified School District. The agency has about 85 employees throughout Los Angeles County.

School district officials have said there have been no incidents of gang-related violence on campus. However, Sturgeon and Carrera--who have expressed concern over growing gang activity near the schools--suggested last month that the district seek help from the agency to deal with gang tensions near the campuses.

Although board members did not take positions Tuesday night, board member Michael Escalante has said he is not convinced that the district should bring the Community Youth Gang Services to the campuses. Morales has said she would like to study the matter further before allowing the group to enter the campuses. Board member Amparo Font has not publicly addressed the matter.

Supt. McKinley Nash said he is reluctant to allow the gang agency on school grounds because he is worried that the district would be liable for any negligent actions by its members while on a campus.

He said such problems as gangs and drug use can best be addressed if the district puts more energy into educating students and helping them gain job skills.

The principals of R. K. Lloyd Continuation School, Centinela Valley Adult School and Hawthorne and Leuzinger high schools said they would like to exchange information with the group but would oppose allowing members of the group to enter the campuses.

“Information is important to us, don’t get us wrong,” said Hawthorne High School Principal Ken Crowe. “What we are concerned about is the romanticism of gangs by (Community Youth Gang Services workers). That is what we are totally against.”

Although some students in the district are gang members, school officials say gangs regard the campuses as neutral territory. The principals said they do not want the group to come on a campus and address as gang members the students who are observing the campus as neutral turf.

Joe Alarcon, a Community Youth Gang Services supervisor working in Wilmington, said the agency’s workers are highly trained and do not romanticize gangs or “talk about old war stories.”

He said the district officials should not wait until gang violence in surrounding communities spills onto the campuses before taking action.

Marianne Diaz-Parton, area manager of the agency’s office in Lawndale, said her workers--who are in constant contact with gang members to cool potentially dangerous squabbles involving gang rivalries--would come on campus only to exchange gang information with the school’s principal.

However, she said her group may have difficulty working with district officials because she feels the principals have a less-than-supportive attitude about the group.

Community Youth Gang Services, which was formed in 1981, is funded primarily by the county and city of Los Angeles. The agency concentrates most of its energies on teaching elementary school students about the evils of gangs, agency officials said.