OXNARD : County Board Backs Expulsion of Student

The Ventura County Board of Education on Monday upheld an Oxnard Elementary School District decision to expel a 14-year-old student for bringing a stun gun to school.

After reviewing the case during an open hearing, the board voted unanimously to support the district’s decision, saying it had acted rightfully in the expulsion proceedings.

The eighth-grader at Fremont Intermediate School was suspended March 14 after another student got hold of his stun gun and zapped two others on the school grounds.

The boy, who has had 101 detentions and suspensions over the last two years, was expelled from the district until January, said Glenn Swiatek, a paralegal who represented the student.

In an interview after the hearing, the boy’s mother said she was notified of only three suspensions.

Swiatek said the youth’s parents should have been notified that they were entitled to meet with school officials before the expulsion hearing. He said officials should have explained to the parents why expulsion was necessary.

But Joan Birdt, the attorney representing the district, said a letter was sent to the parents the day after their son was suspended in March, notifying them of their rights.

The boy’s mother said her son had taken the gun to school because he wanted to scare some kids who had been harassing him.