Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 29, 1993 TAG: 9301290208
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
STUDENTS GETTING DROP ON GUNS
THE RECENT KILLING of a Roanoke teen-ager and the discovery of a loaded pistol in a high school student's book bag renew questions raised by the Roanoke Times & World-News last January about how society - and schools - are coping with kids and guns.
A year after public attention focused on kids with guns, Roanoke school administrators say students themselves have become the most effective weapon in combating guns in schools.
On six occasions this school year, school administrators have confiscated weapons from students. Most came after they received tips from other students.
"God bless them," said Bill Hackley Sr., assistant superintendent for administration for Roanoke schools. "They've been darn effective."
Surrounding school districts are reporting a minimal number of guns found in the hands of students at school this year.
The latest incident came Wednesday at William Fleming High School, when a loaded .38-caliber pistol was found in the book bag of a 16-year-old boy. The student was immediately suspended from school and faces expulsion.
The gun was found after another student alerted school administrators.
Hackley said two pellet guns and four handguns, one of which didn't work, have been taken from students at city schools since September. Three of those guns were discovered in locker searches following tips from students, Hackley said.
One of the handguns was used in a shooting at the Alternative Education Center in September, when a senior was shot in the hip by a teen-age assailant.
Hackley credits stern disciplinary measures, student assemblies and the installation of police officers in the two city high schools with helping educate students that guns are unacceptable in schools.
"I don't have a problem with responsible gun ownership," Hackley said. "I have a problem with teen-agers and children having guns. Schools are a microcosm of society. There are guns out there on the street.
"We take very severe measures. We recommend expulsion."
The students normally face criminal charges.
Hackley said educators have to compete for students' attention with movies and television shows that glorify violence and a society in which guns are plentiful. He said Roanoke schools are just starting to experience some of the problems with guns associated with other urban areas in the United States.
With that backdrop, he said six gun confiscations from the city's 12,780 students is an indication that the anti-gun message may be getting across.
"A certain number of students always opt out of the mainstream," Hackley said. "Public education is built on trust. None of our teachers went into education to be police officers.
"If you know your kids, they will talk to you. The kids are scared to death of guns."
The schools have also randomly used portable metal detectors to check students for weapons.
Still, the cooperation between the city school system and the police department has been instrumental in creating a safer environment for students, said Alyce Szathmary, principal of William Fleming High School.
Szathmary said Mike Rayl, a police officer assigned to the school in September, has helped teach students responsible behavior.
"His presence here has made a positive difference," Szathmary said. "The students admire and respect him. The students have learned how the law can handle certain problems."
Fleming has held at least four assemblies this year dealing with the topic of responsible citizenship at school and in the community.
In Franklin County, where a middle-school custodian had to coax a 14-year-old in geography class to give up a gun last February, no guns have been confiscated from children this school year.
However, Superintendent Leonard Gereau said a gun was found on an adult at a nighttime school-sponsored sporting event. And he said a Boones Mill fifth-grader ran away from school and was found with an unloaded pistol later in the afternoon.
Gereau said school officials put out a letter to parents that guns will not be tolerated. He recommends expulsion and criminal prosecution of students who bring guns to school.
Salem schools reported no real handguns were confiscated, but a couple of lookalikes have been.
Assistant Superintendent Mike Bryant said a student with a weapon receives an automatic 10-day suspension and is referred to a disciplinary-review committee.
Jim Gallion, director of administration for Roanoke County schools, said two high school students have been expelled for having a gun.
One of the students brought the gun to school and sold it to other student.
The county schools' policy calls for an immediate suspension and referral to the police. Principals normally recommend expulsion.
In Botetourt County, a 15-year-old Lord Botetourt High School student in Daleville was found with a gun at school last week. He was suspended for 10 days and charged with possession of a gun on school property.
The 10-day suspension is standard policy for bringing a gun to school, said Botetourt Superintendent C.S. McClure. "It's pretty automatic that they get that suspension," he said.
Possession of other weapons, such as knives, carry a five-day suspension, McClure said.
He said a classmate of the 15-year-old tipped off Lord Botetourt's principal, James Sledd, who confiscated the gun from the student's book bag. The gun, a single-shot .22-caliber derringer, was not loaded. McClure said the student told school administrators he planned to use the gun for target practice after school.
But Botetourt Sheriff Reed Kelly said investigators learned that the student was upset that his former girlfriend was dating another student. He had showed the gun to friends, saying he planned to use it on the other student after school.
It is the only gun that has been confiscated at a school in Botetourt County this school year.
In Bedford County, no guns have been found this year, reported Superintendent John Kent. He said the policy in Bedford is to suspend a student who brings a gun to school for the remainder of the year.
Staff writer Mark Morrison contributed to this story.