FULLERTON : Teachers Speak Out for Strict Weapons Policy

Teachers in the Fullerton School District this week told trustees they are troubled by the board’s recent decision to allow a student who brought a weapon on campus to stay in school.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Anita Smiley, president of the Fullerton Elementary School Teachers Assn., read a letter asking the trustees not to repeat such decisions.

“A student at [D. Russell] Parks Junior High School brought a weapon to school,” she read. “As we understand it, that student was reinstated despite our district’s zero-tolerance policy.

“We’re concerned about the safety of our schools, and we want to make you aware of our concerns,” she told the board after reading the letter, which was signed by 282 teachers.

She urged the board members to “take the necessary action to see that this does not happen again.”

Trustees said they have already taken measures to ensure a tougher stand against students who come to school with weapons.

“We made a mistake, and we realize it,” Trustee Karen Chavez said about the Parks incident. “But after this situation, we put into place strict guidelines” that will not allow students who carry weapons on campus to return to school unless they, their parents, teachers, principals and the district’s expulsion officer sign a contract.

The contract requires the weapon-toting students to promise not to break school rules. If the contract is broken, the pupils will be expelled from the district for up to one year, Chavez said.