6 High Schools to Use Metal Detectors : Oxnard: A district trustee says the number of students bringing weapons to school has escalated. Knives are the most common.

Responding to a sharp increase in the number of weapons confiscated on school campuses, the Oxnard Union High School District will become the first in Ventura County to use hand-held metal detectors to randomly search students.

The announcement was made late Wednesday, the same day a student in the neighboring Ventura Unified School District was stabbed in the chest by a classmate. Jeremy Addison, who suffered a collapsed lung, is listed in serious but stable condition.

Motivated in part by two shooting deaths in Los Angeles schools recently, Oxnard Supt. Bill Studt said he decided earlier this week to move ahead with plans to use metal detectors at the district’s six schools.

“I can’t say that there will never be a weapon on campus,” Studt said. “But I think this will go a long way in making the campuses a lot safer than I believe they are today.”

School board member Steve Stocks agreed, saying that the number of pupils bringing weapons to school in the 12,000-student district has escalated in recent years.

“Our primary expulsion problem is knives,” he said.

During the past 18 months, the district has expelled 37 students for carrying knives and three for possessing guns. An Oxnard district student is in the process of being expelled for firing a gun last week at Ventura High School.

“It’s out of control,” Studt said, adding that he had been considering the use of metal detectors for the past two months.

Studt said he met with school principals Monday to discuss the issue and received full support for the plan. The school board unanimously approved the use of the safety devices at its meeting Wednesday night.

Still, the superintendent said he expects some resistance from the community. He said some people may be concerned that the extra security measures will project a negative image of the district.

“But I would rather have metal detectors than to have weapons in our schools and be waiting for something to happen,” Studt said. “It has to be done.”

He said the district plans to buy three hand-held metal detectors at a cost of $200 apiece for each of the district’s six schools. The district includes Camarillo, Oxnard, Rio Mesa, Hueneme, Channel Islands and Frontier high schools.

Studt said he received more than a dozen calls from parents Thursday morning in support of metal detectors. He said one parent told him that he was sending the district a check for $200 to buy a metal detector for Channel Islands High.

School officials said they are not certain when they will begin using the metal detectors. They said the Oxnard Police Department will train teachers and administrators in how to deal with armed students.

Studt said it has not been determined how searches will be conducted or what criteria will be used to justify them. He said letters will be sent to parents next week informing them of the district’s plan.

Oxnard High students had mixed reactions Thursday about the effectiveness of and need for metal detectors.

“It’s a good idea,” said Joshua Jackson, 14. “There are a lot of gangs on campus. And they do have weapons, but they don’t get caught.”

Shawn Everett, 14, said the security devices would make him feel safer.

“It’s for the benefit of all students, so no one gets hurt,” he said.

Others, however, disagreed, saying students will find ways to smuggle weapons onto campus.

“It’s stupid,” said Stephanie Marcus, 16. “If they want (weapons) in school bad enough, they’re going to find a way to get them in.”

Assistant Principal Bill Thrasher said he was saddened by the district’s actions but supportive nevertheless.

“It’s the times we live in,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that schools have to do these things. But I think it’s necessary.”

Meanwhile, officials in the Ventura Unified School District were still in shock Thursday over the stabbing of Addison, a Buena High football player, the day before.

A 17-year-old student allegedly stabbed Addison, 18, in the chest during a fight in the school parking lot. The alleged assailant, whose name was withheld because of his age, was later arrested.

Addison, an honor student and a linebacker on the varsity football team, was listed in serious but stable condition at Ventura County Medical Center.

Supt. Joseph Spirito said the district is considering hiring more campus aides to help supervise students on the district’s three high school campuses. Buena and Ventura high schools now employ a total of five aides, who are equipped with walkie-talkies. Pacific High, the district’s continuation school, has no aides.

Spirito said he also plans to talk with Buena High officials and students about the possibility of canceling all off-campus lunch passes.

The district revoked lunch passes at Ventura High this week as part of a series of measures aimed at cracking down on gang activities. The district also imposed a new dress code banning hats and all other headgear and closed a section of Poli Street, which divides the campus, to lessen the chance of drive-by shootings.

Spirito said the school received a bomb threat from an anonymous caller about 2 p.m. Thursday, saying that a bomb planted at the school was set to go off at 3 p.m.

The superintendent said police were called and the school was evacuated about 2:50 p.m. The campus was searched, but nothing was found and students were allowed to go back inside about 20 minutes later.

“They’ve got us on the run right now,” Spirito said of those causing trouble on school campuses. “But we have to respond. We’ve got to turn this around.”

Spirito said he may also explore the use of metal detectors on school campuses. “That to me makes sense,” he said.

Also on Thursday, a 12-year-old student at De Anza Middle School in Ventura was caught carrying a small knife on campus and was suspended.

“He’s a good, decent kid,” said Principal David Meyers. “It’s just a dumb thing.”

Meyers said the student will be transferred to another school, which is De Anza’s policy in dealing with such cases.

In an unrelated incident Wednesday, a pipe bomb exploded in a student’s locker at Cabrillo Middle School in Ventura. The explosion occurred about 6 p.m. No one was injured and police are still investigating the incident.