FOUNTAIN VALLEY : 3 Students Expelled for Bringing Knives

The Fountain Valley School District Board of Trustees has expelled three students for bringing knives on campuses, bringing the total number of expulsions since last May to 15, district officials said.

The board decided on the expulsions Thursday.

One student was expelled for carrying a 7 1/2-inch knife with a three-inch blade, said Board of Trustees President Robert Sedlak.

A second student was expelled for bringing a Swiss army knife with a 2 1/2-inch blade, he said.

A third student was also expelled for bringing a Swiss army knife, Sedlak said.

But because the boy is in elementary school, trustees suspended the action, which will allow him to attend another school in the district.

District officials would not release additional information about the incidents to protect the confidentiality of the students.

The district has a zero-tolerance policy that requires expulsion of any student who brings any type of weapon, including guns, knives or other dangerous objects.

Sedlak said the increasing number of expulsions is alarming.

“But there have been few incidents where anyone’s been threatened,” Sedlak said.

“It’s poor judgment,” he added, in explaining why he believes students are carrying knives to school. “And you have to look at each incident individually.”

District officials said in the three most recent expulsions, the knives were not used in a threatening manner toward students or staff.

Sedlak has also been a critic of trustees conducting the expulsion hearings. He believes that a panel made up of school principals should preside over the hearings.

“Having the long hearings is taking away from running the business of the board,” he added, noting that Thursday’s closed-session hearings lasted two hours. “I believe they’ve taken up too much of our time.”