ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230033
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
School officials have decided to stand by a policy of expelling all students who bring a weapon to school.
But some Pulaski County School Board members did want a little more "wiggle room" for borderline cases after one year's experience with the rule.
Nineteen students have been expelled under the policy. A few cases were for firearms and a BB pistol, but most were for objects such as pocketknives.
"The question of zero tolerance or case-by-case [review] is one we went over and over," Superintendent Bill Asbury reminded the board at Thursday night's meeting. "There was a lot of debate."
A committee that included clergy and law enforcement representatives finally recommended the same penalty in all cases.
School Board member Rhea Saltz said some parents who appealed expulsion decisions to the board wondered why they had bothered, if the board had no choice about the penalty. "And we did have a choice," he said.
School Board attorney Tom McCarthy said wording in the state's new gun-free schools act does seem to give a little flexibility but, when the history and intentions of the policy are examined, that flexibility seemed limited to special education students.
That may have changed slightly. "I think the legislatures, both federal and state, have had enough pressure applied that they're backing off of this slightly," McCarthy said. "If you use it to get around the act, they're going to throw it right back at you. ... I think you've got some wiggle room but, if you go into it, go into it with your eyes open."
State law actually allows shotguns to be brought onto school property in certain instances, distinguishing them as hunting weapons. The county School Board went one step beyond the state policy, banning shotguns along with other firearms, knives and items that can be used as weapons.
"We want a tough stance on weapons. I think everybody's in agreement on that," said board Chairman Lewis Pratt. "But when it comes to this thing of exceptions, we want a little bit of flexibility on a borderline case."
But, member Jeff Bain said, "they better be darned special" to avoid the expulsion penalty.
Asbury and Karen Clymer, coordinator for pupil personnel services, said common-sense exceptions already have been made. Many weapons cases involved lesser penalties and never came to the board, they said.
An example would be a student who borrows a parent's key ring to get into the home after school, and the ring has a pen-knife on it, Asbury said. "You're not going to see that," he said. "You get into the size of the knife weighed."
If someone had a water pistol which was metallic and looked real, the penalty would be different from someone having an obvious plastic water-pistol toy, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB