Safety and security

-. t. Dlst OD)1 @002'003 Little Rock School District NEWS RELEASE February 11, 1993 For more information: Dianne Woodruff, 324-2020 LITTLE ROCK. SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE INCREASED SECURITY PROCEDURES FOR ATHLETIC EVENTS Little Rock School District officials announced today the initiation of increased security measures for LRSD basketball games and other District indoor sporting events. All persons now will be videotaped as they enter an event, as well as filmed in the audience during the event. The tape will be used at a later date to identify any person/s who might be involved in a disturbance. The stepped-up procedures include development of a written plan which will cover the placement of security personnel and clarification of their assigned duties. visiting and host administrator are required to be present 311 indoor athletic activities to identify students from A the two participating schools. Students will be required to show a school identification card or offer proof that they are enrolled in one of the participating schools. (MORE) 810 West Markham street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)324-2000w TO 324 2032 Wo^O3 LRSD Security Measures February 11, 1993 Page 2 Additional off-duty policemen have been employed to work school sporting events and LRSD school administrators will reserve the right to restrict the admission to all school events. Other requirements are: * Admission will be charged throughout the entire game. * Only parents will be admitted after the start of the fourth quarter. * All small children and those below the age of the participating schools student body must he accompanied by a parent. The District will press charges against anyone who disturbs an athletic event and will do what ever is necessary to insure the safety of those attending the events.C i Little Rock School District NEWS RELEASE April 29,1993 For more information: Jeanette Wagner, 324-2020 LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE SECURTiy PROCEDURES FOR OUTDOOR ATHLETIC 1 Little Rock School District officials announced today the iniriarion of increased security measures for district outdoor sporting events. Persons may be videotaped as they enter an event, as well as filmed in the audience during the event The tape will be used at a later date to identify any person/s who might be involved in a disturbance. Little Rock School District security personnel and off-duty policemen will be assigned specific locations in addition to the entrance gate and parking lot A visiting and host administrator are required to be present at all outdoor athletic activities to identify students from the parricipan-ng schools, Students are required to show a school identification card or offer proof that they are enrolled in one of the participating schools. (MORE)J/29/93 16:38 0301 324 2032 L R School Dlsr ODM @003/1)03 LRSD Security Measures Page 2 Other requirements are: Admission will be charged throughout the entire event. All small children and those below the age of the participating schools student body must be accompanied by a parent. The District will press charges against anyone who disturbs an athletic event and will do what ever is necessary to insure the safety of those attendin' the events. S !'ri'! if12/15/93 16:26 501 324 2032 L R School Dlst ODM @002/002 C: 1 Little Rock School District NEWS RELEASE December 14,1993 For more information: Jeanette Wagner, 324-2020 SPECIAL LRSD MEETING SCHEDULED The Little Rock School District will hold the first organizational meeting of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Safety and Security tonight at 6 p.m. The task force has been assembled by Dr. Henry Williams, LRSD superintendent ,to address the continuation of a safe and orderly climate for students and staff in LRSD schools. ###c -7 SE? 2 1994 Dione D. Doty 1510 Hillsborough Little Rock, AR 72212 September 1, 1994 0HiC9 o! DsSCQi'GQ' i Dr. Russ Mayo Associate Superintendent Little Rock ^hool District Little Rock, AR 72201 Dear Dr. Mayo: Since your office took absolutely no action to reroute our newly reassigned bus route to exclude violent, crime intensive areas, we have nothing to reconsider. We will NOT compromise on safety issues and denial by your office and others of the existence of safety problems will only speed the exodus from the District. After seventeen years of supporting the Little Rock School District, we have withdrawn that support and enrolled our child in private school. The last 5 stops on this "safe" route are through one of the most violent areas in the city. Attachment 1 is summarized from a August 7 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article regarding the 41 Little Rock murders through that date. It only addressed murders, so it is far from being all-inclusive of area crimes. 37% of those murders were in some way related to this area either being the address of the victim, assailant or of the murder (22% of the 37%). Included were 3 drive-by murders (generally being unsolved), numerous shootings, chases, etc., etc. These locations were within blocks of both the bus stops and bus route which you consider "adequate and safe" and are certainly an indication of the high probability of being at the wrong place at the wrong time when traveling that route. Also note that the 14 year old assailant in murder # 12 has added a carjacking at gunpoint (3 felonies) and another drive-by shooting to his arrest record between August 14 and August 25. This assailant lives within blocks of one of these "safe" bus stops and has not restricted his activities to his home in the past! We understand that the Little Rock School District is large, that it has many students and that transportation is a major logistics problem. Reduced bus-time and optimizing student-to-bus numbers were both cited by the transportation department as objectives for splitting the "Green" route, which has been our assigned route since 1990. We understand such objectives, but did not notice significant changes in either of these factors. We realize that the needs of the 6 children in this crime intensive area must also be met. We regret that they, or any children, are subject to the daily risk of living in such areas. However, we cannot and will not support ANY decision or ANY objective that would put ANOTHER 14 children at risk by transporting them twice a day through an urban war-zone! We do have choices!!Page 2 of 2 Doty to Mayo September 1, 1994 We certainly do not dispute that Booker Arts Magnet is an excellent school. We have been more than pleased with Dr. Simmons, Dr. Lacey, other Booker administrators, and Booker teachers and specialist. When we visited Booker to let Dr. Simmons know of our decision and to allow our daughter to say goodby to friends, there were many expressions of regret that she was leaving and best wishes for her at her new school. This decision was not without regrets and tears on our part. However, the magnitude of this safety issue far out weighs the positives that Booker's administration and staff offer. We want to stress that we would NOT have placed our child in a private school had your office, Dr. Cheatham in the transportation department, and/or Dr. William's office indicated any intent to resolve this safety issue. After numerous statements such as "We feel that the established routes provide adequate and safe service", there was no doubt that we were being told to "take it or leave it"....so we left! We can be contacted at the above address or at (501) 225-6864 if you have questions, comments or would want to further discuss the basis of our decision. Sincerely, (copy) Dione D. Doty Attachment cc (w/attachments): Dr. Henry Williams Dr. Mary Jane Cheatham Dr. Cheryl Simmons Ms. Ann Brown, Federal Monitor Little Rock School BoardLittle Rock School District August 23, 1994 Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Doty 1510 Hillsborough Lane Little Rock, AR 72212 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Doty
Dr. Henry Williams, Superintendent, routing from your address, 1510 Hillsborough Lane School. asked me to review the bus to Booker Magnet I personally reviewed the routing with information supplied by the Transportation Department. As of this date, we do not havp a bna that would follow As of this date, we do not have a bus your requested route to Booker Magnet School. population of the district is currently over 21 000 students. We strive to provide both an efficient and safe educational environment for our students. ------ I am unable to honor your request for alternate bus routing at this time. We feel that the established routes provide adequate and safe service. We feel that I hope that you will reconsider n , ,, - . ----- your choice of private school. Booker Magnet is an excellent school. * I feel that if given the opportunity, Erin will be provided a quality education in a safe environment. Sincerely, Dr. Russ Mayo Associate Superintendent RM: dk 810 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)324-2000 Attachment 1 Page 1 of 2 Details from the August 7, 1994 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article of the 41 Little Rock miinkts (at that date) in 1994. DATE LOCATION DETAILS # BLOCKS TO BUS ROUTE LOCATION # BLOCKS TO BUS STOP LOCATION 1-9-94 2 of 41 2-7-94 4 of 41 2-12-94 5 of 41 2-15-94 6 of 41 3-17-94 12 of 41 **AND MORE! AND3- 25-94 14 of 41 4-17-94 17 of 41 2026 W. 18th Murder location In route from basketball game (Central area) to 2213 Valmar Murder location 3310 W. 16th Assailant's address 2421 W. 16th Address of victim of police shooting prosecutors ruled justified 1722 Johnson St. Assailants address Stabbed, CRACK COCAINE in exchange for sex DRIVE BY SHOOTING, FIRED TWO BULLETS, RETRIBUTION FOR AN EARLIER SHOOTING Victim killed by GUNSHOTS in his living room (outside of area) Victim killed after police STAKEOUT, CHASE AND CONFRONTATION. SHOOTING outside of area but stakeout and chase locations not documented Shot victim with .22 CALIBER PISTOL, stolen property sale 4 Blocks 14th & Jones 6 Blocks 14th & Woodrow In route = "in area of 14th & Woodrow In route & "in area of NA NA NA **This is the 14/15 year old in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette August 26-30 articles. He was arrested & charged with the 3/17 murder, arrested again in August for carjacking at gunpoint ( 3 felony charges), then arrested again for a drive- by shooting in this area August 26. 3 gun & auto related incidents ..MURDER and CARJACKING and-DRlVE-BY SHOOTING 2509 W. 13th Murder location GUNMAN OPENED FIRE as victim emerged from house
police say murder was GANG RELATED 1 Block 14th & Thayer 5 Blocks 14th & Woodrow 5 Blocks 15th & Schiller AND 5 Blocks 14 th & Woodrow 5 Blocks 14th & Woodrow 4 Blocks 14 th & Woodrow AND 6 Blocks 15th & Schiller A 4220 W. 12th Assailants address B. 4310 Maryland Murder location Demanded money from victim
SHOT SEVERAL TIMES with large-caliber pistol A 4 Blocks 10th & Pine/Cedar B. 3 Blocks Maryland & Pine/Cedar A. 8 Blocks 10th & Valmar B. 8 Blocks 10th & ValmarDATE 4-26-94 20 of 41 5-8-94 23 of 41 5-11-94 24 of 41 5-27-94 27 of 41 5-30-94 28 of 41 6-18-94 33 of 41 6-11-94 35 of 41 7-10-94 37 of 41 Attachment 1 Page 2 of 2 LOCATION 16th & Izard Victim's car found at this location A.351O W 14th Victim's address B. 1608 Park Murder location 3515 1/2 W. 11th Assailant's address (No murder location noted) A. 1520 Oak Victim's address B. 3600 Block of W. 16th Murder location A. 1914 Ringo Victim's address B. 1422 Chester Murder location 1603 Chester Assailants address A. 1911 Cross Murder location B. 1011 W 20th Assailants' address 1000 block of S Elm Murder location DETAILS Victim strangled in her home outside of area
no assailant address
victim's car in apartment parking lot Victim shot with a HANDGUN, ran a short distance and collapsed at 1608 Park Assailant minutes earlier complained to police officer that victim had stolen his tennis shoes
assailant STABBED victim after a FOOT CHASE. Several men in a car fired a DOZEN OR MORE SHOTS from SEVERAL WEAPONS...UNSOLVED MURDER DRIVE-BY SHOOTING, three occupants, two gunshot wounds in chest
UNSOLVED MURDER Assailant called police and said had killed a man with a rock after being threatened with a knife (murder outside of area) Victim's neck was broken when choked & robbed at his home DRIVE-BY SHOOTING
AS MANY AS EIGHT ROUNDS
SHOOTER GANG-STYLE CLOTHING
UNSOLVED MURDER # BLOCKS TO BUS ROUTE LOCATION NA NA 1 Block 11th & Valmar A & B 6 Blocks 12th & Valmar A. 5 Blocks 16th & Chester B. 2 Blocks 16th & Chester Exact Location 16th & Chester NA 2 Blocks Pine/Cedfir & lOtli # BLOCKS TO BUS STOP LOCATION Exact Location 16th & Izard A. 5 Blocks 14th & Woodruff B. 2 Blocks 15tli & Shiller 1 Block 10th & Valmar A & B 7 Blocks 10th & Valmar 9 Blocks 14th & Woodruff A. 6 Blocks 16th & Izard B. 3 Blocks 16th & Izard AND 6 Blocks Dr. Martin Luther King & 15th 1 Block 16th & Izard A & B. 6 Blocks 15th Izard AND 7 Blocks Dr. Martin Luther King & 15th 6 Blocks 10th & ValmarL y yckooi Bist Little Rock School District NEWS RELEASE August 17,1994 For more information: Jeanette Wagner, 324-2020 LRSD TO HOLD SECURITY OFFICERS WORKSHOP Little Rock School District as well as Little Rock city officials take part in a workshop for LRSD district security officers on Thursday. August 18 and Friday, August 19 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The two-day workshop, designed for LRSD full and part-time school security officers and resource officers, will be held at Parkview Magnet High School. On Thursday, Mark Stodola, prosecuting attorney for Pulaski County, will address the issue of youth gangs while Assistant Little Rock Police Chief Randy Reed speaks on the LRPD perspective concerning school security. Dr. Henry Williams, LRSD superintendent will present several awards and citations to officers who served during the 1993-94 school year. Darold Maxfield, director of the LRSD Truancy Center will discuss how the center supports school security. ### 810 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)824-2000EASTERN DISTRICT ARANSAS OCT 2 i 1994 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS WESTERN DIVISION JAMES w. McCormack, clerk DSP cte^ WADE POOLE PLAINTIFF VS. NO. BILL BARNHOUSE, a Former Employee of the Little Rock School District: Individually and in His Official Capacity
DR. HENRY WILLIAMS, Superintendent of Schools of the Little Rock School District
and the BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT DEFENDANTS 1. COM PLAl NT Jurisdiction is pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1343. Relief is sought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1983, and 2000(e). 2. Plaintiff is an African American citizen of the United States who resides in Pulaski County, Arkansas. He has been employed by the Little Rock School District (hereinafter LRSD) since January 3, 1994 in the position of Supervisor of Security Personnel. He brings this action to secure his rights to equal protection and due process of law guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and by the statutes provided herein. He also seeks to require the defendants to adhere to their own rules and personnel selection policies and practices. c
\wp60\poole.cpt Z0d 00I01ZS Oi B'd a3>nBiTn nhot wodd Sfifrl *66I/T3/0l3. Defendant Bill Bamhouse is a former of employee of the LRSD who took or participated in taking the adverse actions which plaintiff challenges in this Complaint. Defendant Henry Williams is the Superintendent of Schools of the LRSD. The Defendant Board of Education is a public body corporate which has the responsibility for setting policy and employing staff to oversee, manage and operate the public schools of the LRSD. 4. This is an action for declaratory judgment and to have the defendants mandatorily enjoined to provide plaintiff a fair opportunity to compete for a job promotion. This is also an action for damages against Defendant Bamhouse for having engaged in acts of job pre-selection which have adverse racial and due process consequences. .1 5. Plaintiff is a graduate of Park College in St. Louis, Missouri with a Bachelors Degree in criminal justice administration. He has a history of public and military employment. He has been employed by the LRSD since January, 1994. 6. In May or June of 1994, the LRSD announced a position vacancy the administrative position of Director of Safety and Security. The position announcement set forth the qualifications for tfie job and included a requirement that applicants have a college degree in a field related to safety and security. The announcement did not indicate that educational qualifications could be substituted or waived. 7. After Plaintiff Poole applied for the position but before Defendant Bamhouse became aware of plaintiffs application, Bamhouse indicated to plaintiff that: \ve need to fix this [position announcement] so Bobby can get the job." As c:\wp60\poole.cpt 2 0 d 00I0TZ2 Oi t) d a3>nBn PI nhor woddDefendant Bamhouse was talking, he was rewriting the job description so as to fit the employment qualifications of Bobby Jones. Jones is a white person who is a retired policeman for the Uttle Rock Police Department. When employed by the LRSD, Jones was perceived by many black police officers to be racial in his treatment of black police officers and of black citizens. 8. Jones did not meet all of the objective qualifications set forth in the position announcement or the job description. The defendants allowed Bamhouse to rewrite the job description notwithstanding the fact that Bamhouse had already ' resigned the position. Defendants proceeded to ratify Barnhouses action without there being a formal meeting by the Board on the matter. I 9. The defendants violated their own practice, if not their own policy, in writing or rewriting a job description or in allowing a job description to be rewritten in I order to favor a particular applicant. That the application was written by a white employee to favor a white associate has racial implication. 10. The Defendant Henry Williams indicated to plaintiff that the selection process would be fair and nondiscriminatory. He also indicated that the comparative qualifications of the applicants would be subject to review by a bi-racial panel of I i citizens and/or district employees prior to making a selection for the position. That panel would also interview applicants and make recommendations before the position was filled. Defendant Williams promised Plaintiff Poole an interview before the panel prior to his own action upon any recommendation that panel would make to him. 11. On information and belief, Defendant Williams did not follow through c:\wp80\poole.cpt 3 te 'd 00I0I22 01 wd aaxion'o nhot woad It- SM t'66IzT3/0Iwith his promise in that he did not convene a bi-racial selection panel to interview applicants. During this same time, the District was engaged in the process of the selection of principals in the School District Interview panels were also promised for those panels by Defendant Williams and the District for that process as well. Defendant Williams chose not to use panels in some cases and in other cases, such as in principals and other staff members, he chose to use panels. He simply used panels when he wanted to and did not do so when he wanted to
thus, the districts polices were violated. ' 12. Bamhouse recomm,ended Jones to Williams as Barnhouse's successor and represented that Jones met all applicable criteria. This was not true. Upon the announcement of his retirement, Bamhouse then recommended that Jones act as Director of Security until the position could be filled by the Board. Defendant Williams accepted Bamhouse's recommendation. That action constituted favoritism due to race or color. 13. Plaintiff met the qualifications for the position
he applied for the position: the District continued to solicit applicants for the position after plaintiffs application
and the District changed the qualifications of the position in order to fit and favor a white employee who did not meet the qualifications that certain School District officials wished to have the job. 14. By defendants aforestated conduct, plaintiff has been deprived of due process and equal protection of laws under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution by 42 U.S.C. 1981 and 1983, and of his rights to be fairly and equally c
\wp60\poole.cpt 4 0 d 00I0Ii Oi d * d d 3 > T s m n H H 0 r w o a 3 8 a : fr I a 6 6 I / I e z 0 Ttreated pursuant to the Districts own policies and procedures. Plaintiff has been denied an opportunity to have his objective qualifications considered by the school board in his quest for a promotion. Plaintiff has therefor been deprived of well- defined, weil-estabiished legal rights which are set forth in the statutes cited herein. He has no effective recourse for the discrimination he has suffered other than this action for declaratory, equitable and injunctive relief. Any other recourse would be so costly, time consuming and uncertain as to deny effective relief. WHEREFORE, plaintiff prays that this matter be set for early hearing and. thereafter, that the Court enter an Order declaring that plaintiff has been subject to employment discrimination due to his race or color. Plaintiff also prays that the Court declare that the employment process was tainted and otherwise rife with overtones of pre-selection and nepotism in violation of law and district policy. Plaintiff further prays that he either be awarded the job position or that the job be declared vacant until appropriate consideration of the initial job requirements. As an alternative, plaintiff prays for damages and a declaration that he is entitled to fill this vacancy or to be paid as if he were holding the position and then that he awarded the next comparable promotional vacancy for which he qualifies. Plaintiff further prays for his costs, including reasonable counsel fees. Respectfully submitted, JOHN W. WALKER, P.A. 1723 Broadway Little Rock, AR 72206 (501) 374-3758 c
\wp60\poole.cpt 5 90d 00T0I22 01 B'd d3>ntin'n nhof wodd strti t-eeizizzei11 o- By: Jdkn W. Walker, Bar No. 64046 Austin 1. 86145 DATED: October 20. 1994 c:\wp60\poole.cpt 6 d 00I0ld Oi 0d asMiBPi'n NHor wodd OSit-I f60T/I3/0I JOHN W. WALKER, P.A. 1723 Broadway Little Rock, AR 72206 Tel (501) 374-3758 Fax (501) 374-4187 JOHN W. WAUKER RALPH WASHINGTON MARK BURNETTE AUSTIN PORTER JR, FAX TO: ANN BROWN FAX#: 371-0100 FROM: JOHN W. WALKER DATE: OCTOBER 21,1994 SUBJECT: POOLE v. BARNHOUSE PAGES: 7 NOTES: :0*d 00101Z2 01 b*d a3>nbn'n nhot woddR son LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT PUPIL SERVICES DEPARTMENT JAN 1 6 1555 January 17, 1995 Office cf Dsse^rc^jdiiCfi /vigniijiibg To: Safety and Security Task Force From: Jo Evelyn Elstdn/uirector, Pupil Services Enclosed is a "clean" copy of the Safety and Security Task Force Recommendations Checklist that we reviewed at our January 4, 1995 meeting. Thank you for your comments and suggestions in helping to refine the draft. I will be presenting this information to our Board of Directors at the January 25, 1995 regular board meeting. You are all invited and encouraged to attend. Your support would be appreciated. Thank you again for agreeing to continue to serve on the Task Force. Your commitment to the District and our children sincerely appreciated. is We agreed to meet quarterly. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5, 1995, 6:00 p.m., in the Boardroom. We hope you can make the January 25th Board meeting. JEE/mabLITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT 1994 SAFETY AND SECURITY TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST January 12, 1995 *w A. IMPLEMENTED B. PARTIAL IMPLEMENTATION D. NOT IMPLEMENTED [ C. DEFERRED DOE TO BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS 1. Implement a standardized Violence Prevention curriculum in all schools. 2. Establish Peer Mediation Program in all schools. Violence Prevention Curriculiua Conflict Mediation B B A C D A C D z Central Z z Fair z Z Hall z Z McClellan Z Z Parkview z z Cloverdale J.H. z Z Dunbar z Z Forest Heights z Z Henderson z Z Mabelvale J.H. z Z Mann Magnet z z Pulaski Heights J.H. z z Southwest z z Badgett z Z Bale z Z Baseline z Z Booker zA X B C D A B C D Brady X X Carver X X Chicot/Ish X X Cloverdale X X Dodd X X Fair Park X X Forest Park X X Franklin X X Fulbright X X Garland X X Geyer Springs X X Gibbs X X Jefferson X X King X X MabeIvale X X McDermott X X Meadovcliff X X Mitchell X X otter Creek X X Pulaski Heights X X Rightsell X X Rockefeller X X Romine X X Terry X X Wakefield X X Washington X X Watson X X Western Hills X X Williams Magnet X X Wilson X X Woodruff X -2-A A 3 3 T X I I I J . Frov Conf ide \ staff. D : cr JC everition ict Mediation Training to all B X X C D 3 C D I I I X A 3 C D X I J 5. I Educate and Sensitize all Teachers and Staff to the correlation between students being fully engaged in a positive educational experience and the low incidence of those students becoming involved in violent or disruptive school behavior. Provide Conflict Resolution Training to parents and students involved in violent or disruptive behavior. a. Require students involved in weapons violations and who commit acts of violence resulting in a L.T. suspension/expulsion to attend conflict resolution training as a reinstatement. ondition for b. Teach conflict resolution skills all students assigned to to in-school suspension because of physically verbally aggressive 6. Expand the District's Alternative School Program to provide a variety of educational options to meet the Educational, Personal/Social and Career needs of At-Risk Students. 7. Locate and utilize additional community resources. Designate one person in the District to be responsible for developing a comprehensive directory of community resources and serve as indistrict contact for referral assistance to Little Rock School District staff. -3-li' ji ir II I 3 T I S T i X I T I I li 'J all secondary r 1 ? 9 4 - B 5 school vear and to all ele.me exten ary schools to the D 5 . II I I A B D Prov Staf a ie Violen e Preventior Devslopr.er.t and Sonool Di ng to all d I.. ttle Reck riot employees. it >1 I X ! ii li ii 10. Stre In VO ngthen Parental I'-'enient in t.he sc.hools. B D 11. Create and maintain an ongoing i X I I !! Ji 3 d Safe nd Security Task Force. A 3 D n li i X I i I I A B !i J
I D I X h II I I I J -4- 12. Enhance school bus safety. Utilize transportation departnent security personnel to make random scans on school buses. 13. Develop safe school plans districtwide.f 1 P k>. i np] e.nent
oor po 1 1 Icings. 1 ind n.indate
n -111 A B r i X 4- X I A B C D a r T I X b. c. X d. e. f. X X X A. Kaquest L tie Rock Police Depart~ent to enforce loitering law round school campuses. B. Request Alert Center assigned police officer be allowed to monitor school grounds in areas where Alert Centers and schools are in close proximity. 15. Establish "Target Hardening Procedures". a. Selective fencing around school campus area. b. Locked doors. c. Rearrangement of existing facilities for better security. d. Use of cameras & mirrors. e. Safe environment design for new or remodeled facilities. f. Trimming of large shrubbery and trees to 11 hiding places. A B C D X rn 16. Enhance Metal Scanning Procedure. A B X I C D 17. Study the feasibility and advisability of school uniforms. -5-f. 'J I a LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT Pupil Services Department 1 3 1995 'hoe u. 5995 5*j U<..<U .nii
nng May 15, 1995 TO: LRSD Departmen^Heads and Budget Managers FROM: Jo Evelyn Elst' Pupil , Director rv THROUGH: Dr. 'nr- Williams, Superintendent SUBJECT: Safe Schools andtCommunities March, Rally and Carnival The Little Rock School District Peer Helper's Advisory Council launched a Districtwide Safe Schools and Communities Campaign on February 1, 1995, to encourage student, parent and staff participation in school and community-based activities that help to create and maintain schools that are safe and violence free. A number of "Safe schools" activities have been implemented during the school year. On Saturday, May 20, a Safe Schools and Communities march, rally and carnival will be held at MacArthur Park to culminate our year long project. All District personnel are invited and encouraged to join with us in this celebration. The march will begin at 10:00 a.m. in front of the District Administration Building and end at MacArthur Park. The rally will begin around 11:15 a.m. A number of community and student leaders, including Governor Tucker and Mayor Dailey, will speak and a variety of entertainment will be provided throughout the day. We need your support of this effort through your attendance at the march and rally on March 20. Please help our Peer Helpers to make a visible statement to the public regarding the Little Rock School District's support and advocacy for safe and secure schools and communities that are free of violence. JEE/lccgHSsaBB 05 1"'93 17
03 003.003 !> ft k'
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V< - t > May 17,1995 LRSD COSMVXICATI ODM i-p 0501 324 2023 c <7^ a Little Rock School District News Release For more information: Dina Teague, 324-2020 The Little Rock School District Peer Helper's Advisory Coundl xvill culminate a year long Districtwide Safe SchooE and Communities Campaign with a march, rally and carnival on Saturday, May 20. The march begins at 10.00 a.m. in front of the LRSD administration building and ends at McArthur Park- Governor Jim Guy Tucker and Mayor Jim Dailey will speak at the rally wiiich begins at 11:15 a.m. in the park. District personnel, students, and community leaders will participate in the event to show the LRSD's support and advocacy^ for safe and secure schooE and communities that are free of violence. Since the campaign launch on February 1, the Peer Helper's Advisory Council has hosted various school and communitv-based activities to help a-eate and maintain schooE that are safe and violence free. /I. 'J 0 J, I 810 West Markham street Little Rock, .Arkansas 72201 (301)334-2000 J1* I'H lA' 05 17 85 1T
O3 0*301 321 2023 LRSD COMMINICATI ODM J 0002 -'003 - r H 4 Little Ro( k School District '3' Media Ad\Tsoiy I >1 I' I u May 17,1995 For more information'- Dina Teague, 324^2020 1,^ Following is a list of additional events for announcements, neivs coverage and/or photo opportunities in the Little Rock School District for this week: 9-59 a m, - 12:30 p.ni. Sixth grade gifted and talented students compete m the Sixth de Challenge at Parkview Arts and Sciences Magnet High School Competitive events cover the areas of current events, spelling,, vocabulary, math, logic, and hand-on problem solvin
g<iaY,.Mfiy-19, T.iy - 2
2Q pan, The Reading Conmiittee at Booker Arts Magnet Elementary School hosts a Celebration of Reading" to reward students for readin^ a designated number of books. The students have created a bookworm that curies the inside of the building. Guest readers and storytellers in costumes will visit decorated classrooms to visit with studenis. V 7' } 4^' 'v*c!5t > ? :r.. 4 fi -<:k' s'
4"' - ' ,T 810 West Markham Street LitUe Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)824-2000 J-n. little rock school district PUPIL SERVICES DEPARTMENT RSCSI'^ 5 1 019% OtiiCb O!iC8 0* Qesegiega'jon f^onaoni-Q MARCH 12, 1996 TO: Safety and Sec ity Task Force Members FROM: Jo Evelyn Elston
irector of Pupil Services Department SUBJECT: Task Force Meeting A meeting of the Little Rock School District Safety and Security Task Force is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, 1996, at 5:30 p.m. in the Little Rock School District Administration Building Boardroom We have a number of important issues in at 810 West Markham Street. If you are unable to to discuss and encourage your attendance. attend, please call me (324-2162) at your earliest convenience. I am looking forward to our meeting and continuing our work in helping to make our schools safe, caring and respectful learning communities.1 LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT PUPIL SERVICES DEPARTMENT RECEiVS^ ArH i 6 1996 Office of Dese^reyaiioii April 10, 1996 TO: Little Rock Scho) District Safety & Security Task Force FROM
Jo Evelyn Elstorf, Director of Pupil Services SUBJECT
Scheduled Meeting At the April 9, meeting of the Safety and Security Task Force, an overview of the LRSD Strategic Plan was given by Leon Modeste, special assistant to the Superintendent. Strategy ten of the plan. School Safety, has been assigned to the Safety and Security Task Force to carry through on its implementation. Strategy ten contains seven Action Plans
Task Force members are asked to volunteer to work on at least one sub committee to develop an implementation plan for the assigned Action Plan. Listed below are the action plans and the individuals who volunteered to chair and/or work to complete the implementation plan: Plan 1 - Provide ongoing conflict resolution training and skill development for students. 1. 2. 3. Chairperson - Kwami Nancy Rousseau Margie Powell Plan 2 - Improve behavior and safety on school buses and bus stops. 1. 2. 3 . 4. Chairperson - Bruce Moore Mary Jane Cheatham Bobby Jones Ed Streeter Plan 3 - Control access to school buildings, grounds and events. 1, 2. Chairperson - Bobby Jones Janet Buford1 Plan 4 - Implement a staff development plan for all school district personnel to fully understand safety policies and procedures. 1. Chairperson - Jo Evelyn Elston Plan 5 - Develop and enhance a system of communication among schools, administration and the public regarding issues of safety and security. 1. Chairperson - Steve Shultz Plan 6 - Inform the public of plan in regard to the following: (a) Control of drug activity, (b) violence prevention, (c) campus and bus security (in language that is direct and easy for all to understand). 1. Chairperson - Kathy Wells 2. Nancy Rousseau 3. Jane Meadows 4. Jo Evelyn Elston 5. Suellen Vann Plan 7 - Develop a credible evaluation plan that will ensure complete and proper implementation. 1. Chairperson - Mary Jane Cheatham 2. Ed Streeter Each chairperson will recruit additional participants from the Task Force members who were absent on April 9, and from the community at large. Subcommittees are asked to meet before the next scheduled meeting of the Task Force on April 29, 1996, at 5:30 p.m, in the Little Rock School District Boardroom. Your willingness to serve on the Task Force is deeply appreciated. Feel free to call if you have guestions.NAME AND ADDRESS OF SAFETY AND SECDRITY TASK FORCE 1995-96 Dr. Victor Anderson Co-Chairperson Safety & Security Force LRSD Task Jo Evelyn Elston Co-Chairperson Safety & Security Task Cory Anderson - UALR 2801 S. University Ave. Force LRSD Little Rock, AR 72204 lobby Jones Director Safety & Security Dept. Little Rock School Dist. Judge Wiley Branton Juvenile Division 3001 West Roosevelt Rd. Little Rock, AR 72206 Ed Streeter 5400 Murray St. Little Rock, AR 72209 Ms. Frances Dedner '224 Valley Drive Little Rock, AR 72209 Mrs. Erma Hendrix LR Board of Directors 921 W. Roosevelt Rd. Little Rock, AR 72209 Dr. Patty Kohler Director-Division of Exceptional Children Little Rock School Dist. Dr. William Lawson Dept, of Psychology Veterans Medical Center 220 Ft. Roots Drive N. Little Rock, AR 7211 Mrs. Neddie J. Nichols 11005 Mara Lynn, Apt. E Little Rock, AR 72211 T. Kevin O'Malley LRSD Board of Directors Tower Building-Suite 700 Little Rock, AR 72201 Mrs. Margie Powell 201 E. Markham-Suite 510 Heritage West Building Little Rock, AR ----- Mrs. Bettye Robinson Transportation Dept. LRSD 72201 Steve Shults 223 Crystal Court Little Rock, AR 72205 Mrs. Minnie Thompson 4323 W. 17th Street Little Rock, AR 72204 Dr. Linda Watson Student Hearing Officer LRSD Mrs. Stella Watson 908 Townsend Little Rock, AR 72202 James Washington Principal Henderson Captain W.W. Williams LRPD 700 West Markham Little Rock, AR Burce Moore 500 W. Markham, Room 203 Little Rook, AR 72201 72201 Jim Fullerton 30 Calais Court Little Rock, AR 72211 Lillie Carter 5405 Southboro Drive Little Rock, AR 72209 Janet Buford 2901 North Pierce Little Rock, AR 72207 Kathy Wells P.O. Box 777 Little Rock, AR 72203 Pat Gee 8409 Dowan Drive Little Rock, AR 72209 Nancy Rousseau 11 River Oaks Little Rock, Ar 72207 Jane Meadows 12514 Colleen Drive Little Rock, AR 72212 Rich Robins 4119 Lee Ave. Little Rook, AR 72204 Mary Jane Cheatham Laidlaw Transportation 5400 Murray St Little Rock, AR 72209 Steve Bradley - UALR Community Revitalization 2801 S. University Ave. Little Rock, AR 72204 Kwami 1622 Peyton Little Rock, AR 72204nay 5 sif3 10:24 P.03 LRSD Safety and Seearftr/ .1 ittcni Gdliup poll shoivs that parents, across the nation are con-'erned ^bnut then cbildtens safetv and ba-tbrin' at suhooi. At the LRSD, we are taking proactive measures to provide .a safe envi- i i nneii for ieaming. here .\re scm< of the things we are doing, or have done, for you and your children' i -dcs Police Resource Cfticeis in au seconda-y schools to help provide balance behc^een crime prevention education, and enforcement and to provide informed positive cor tacts for students. test LKSD LUS tin /ets ioi drug use ror a period of three years before it was mandated by state 'a'.e Cooperate with tlie Littie Rock Police iJepartn*ient on incidents requiring a police report. .nssjgn .Safe.ty and Securih' Officers to setfondaty sefpois and plaie additional securitv officers in schools dvj-ing fne jast week of sebod. ' Work with .Ne v Futures for Little Rock to suppiort the \outh Initiative Proiect, a program which provides children with an aherna.tive to gangs jnd vioknte. 9 I i'b.' ''ide personal alarms for teachers and staff members at a reduced cost. J Employ a bafem and Security Supervisor to mvesdgate smdent and oerent concerns. imp.'ement ranrton-' > roiahng assignments of security cameras and pepsonrel to school buses. Cooperate 'A-ifi. parent groups io improve .school environments. c Provide training tor teachers and other sthool-ievsl employees to prevent violence and gang aniviixes ] ii w y * -Minj. ANCt .w FGti (iini rysin: Irece -J I? ' MAY 1 S'W Little Rock School District Pupil Services Department Office of Deseflregaiian Monitonny May 14, 1996 TO: LRSD Safety & curity Task Force FROM: Jo Evelyn Elst' , Director of Pupil Services SUBJECT: June Meeting A Safety & Security Task Force meeting has been scheduled for Monday, June 3, 1996 at 5:30 p.m. in the LRSD Boardroom. Your attendance and support are appreciated. 10:33 6 PAGE 01 Little Rock School District DEPARTMENl OF PUPIL SERVICES 810 West Markham Little Rock, Ar 72201 FAX SHEET FAX #(501) 324-2199 Date: To
u to, 195^ SL> r(y\~kn^:. a From. . * Sender's Phone #
a Subject 3 7^^ J SPEC' TRUCTIONS
bAp// t I, Number of Pages (including cover page) 4- 510 West Markham Street Fax Number T/iqiqo 1 cutie Rock, Arkansas 72201 * f50152< 2000 . 'A . * . I Mii 0*/ie/1996 10:33 6 PAGE 02 ACTION PLAN strategy #10, Plan #1 This subcommittee is chaired by kwami (Project .5upervisor--Drug-Free Schools & Communities Emergency Grant). Members include Mar^e Powell (Associate MonitorOffice of Desegregation Monitoring), Nancy Rousseau (Assistant Principal-Little Rock Central High School), and SRO Gregory Mobley (Little Rock Police Department). Upon reviewing the LRSD 1994 SafeW and Security Task Force Recommendations Implementation Checklist compiled on January 12, 1995, this subcommittee has determined that 81% of the schools in this district currently have implemented violence prevention curriculum and conflict mediation programs. Ihese curriculum and programs vary in content due to the needs of the school Illis sub-committee also agrees that the LRSD Pupil Services Department currently lias a successful conflict resolution/peer mediation program called the Peer Advisory Council. In addition, this sub-committe is aware of several conflict resolution programs which may serve as models to assist us in our work. Two progiams in particular are L.O.V.E. (Let Our Violence End) and S A V E (Students Against Violence Evervwhere). The latter of which is of special inteiest because, it is a student-based program. Our plan is to first survey all schools to ascertain exactly where each school i.s in the impiemejitation of their violence prevention curriculum and conflict mediation program. We are interested in learning about the different curriculum and programs beuig used and their effectiveness, hi August, we initiate a survey (proposed copy attached) through the Pupil Services Department. I- r 07/10/1996 10:33 6 PAGE 03 The goal of this sub-committee is to proride on-going conflict resolution training and skill development for Students In doing so, we will orgaiuze a team to identify/develop training modules regarding conflict resolution. Team will include students, youth group representatives, law enforcement officials, parents, school district staff, citizens and representatives from judicial system. OBJECTIVE # IConvene student focus groups to review and revise content. Assigned to
Starting date
Due date
Completion date
Assistant Principals & Counselors August 26, 1996 September 9, 1996 NOTE. Each school will accomplish this objective for the purpose of reviewing that school's cuiTiculum and program. The student focus group, along with an assistant principal and counselor, will complete the survey we send them. OBJECTIVE #2Complete final draft and prepare for printing and distribution. Assigned to: Starting date
Due date
Completion date
Sub-committee September 9, 1996 September 23, 1996 NOTE: This sub-committee will examuie the data collected from the returned surveys, and recommend actions to each school. OBJECTIVE #3Develop a school-based delivery network. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date. Completion date: Student Focus Groups, Assistant Principals & Counselors September 9, 1996 October 7, 1996 NOTE
Tlie school-based deliveiy network should be inclusive of evetywhere-- students, teachers, administrators, and suppoit faculty. Parents can also be encouraged to participate. (This sub-committee also recognizes the importance of conflict resolution training being implemented on all LRSD properties.) OBJECTP.T: #4Develop a public awarejiess plan to inform students, parents and school district staff of module content and trnning schedule. Assigned to- Starting date
Due date: Completion date
Sub-committee & Student Focus Groups September 30, 1996 OBJECTIVE #3De.velop a train-the-trainer model that includes youth peer trainers paired with teachers. Assigned to:Ei tjiv555fc 0 10/1996 10:33 6 PAGE 04 Starting date: Due date: Completion date: OBJECTIVE #6Recruit teachers and student trainees and conduct training sessions Assigned to: Starting date: Due date- Completion date
Assistant Principals & Counselors September OBJECTIVE #7-Develop delivety schedule. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date: Completion date: student Focus Groups September 16, 1996 September 30, 1996 OBJECTIVT #S-Conduct training sessions. Xssigned to
Starting date
Ehie date: Completion date
Assistant Principals & Counselors OBJECTIVE #9Evaluate effectiveness of training effort. Assigned to
Starting date
Due date: Completion date
1221 EQUITY- STANCE CTR TEL:1-5O1-682-5177 Jul 10 96 11:33 No.002 P.02 Aikansas ________ DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION 4 STATE CAPITOL MALL LirfLE ROCK. ARKANSAS 72201-1071 (501) 682-4475 GENE WILHOIT, Director, Oencrel Education Division July 10 1996 Mrs Margie PoM'eIl Ottlcc of Desegregation Monitoring 201 East Markham, Suite 510 Heritage West Bldg . Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Rc. State Department of Education contact persons for counselors in Region VI Deal Margie: Per conversation of ,1uly 10. 1996 regarding contact persons for state Department of Educations in Region VI, please note Ilie following: LojiisifliLaLSlatc DrpaiTincnt uf Lduxiilittn Dr Barry Solar Louisiana State Department of Education P.O 94064 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804 Ph # 504-342-3599 OkJiilioniuStale PcparluieuiurEducatum Dr J C Smith, Goordinator 2500 North Lincoln Blvd Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 72105-4599 Ph.# 405-521-3549 Npw Mexico State lleKarlmtiiLotEjucalkm I Ms. Nancy Mandel Education Building 300 Don Gastar Santc Fe, New Mexico 87501-2786 If there are questions, please feci tree to call 682-6094 Sincerely. STATE HOARD OF EDDOATION Chsiitnan KICn.\KD C. SMITH, JR., McOelioc LUKE GORDY, Van Buion Vico Chftiimm V<TLL1AM B. FISHES., Partgould. Mwilrm CARL E BAGGEIT, Roeer-r GARY BEASLEY. Crossett nr^TV PtCKH iT Conwav . IAMES MCLARTY UI. NcA^rt RAE RICE PERRY A.kndeH^va BEn SHFRRY walker. Ernie Rock Mn-Cn LLEWELLYN, JR., Fort Smith JAMES WHITMORE, Spnaedalo ELAINF- SCOTT, LiWo Rock An Equal Opportunity Employer ... EBm Little Rock School District RECEIVED Pupil Services Department JUN 2 0 19961 June 17, 1996 Office of Desegregation Monitoring TO: Safety & Securi Task Force Committee FROM: Jo Evelyn Elston, Director of Pupil Services SUBJECT: July Meeting Many thanks to the following committee chairpersons who attended the June 3rd meeting and made progress reports on their Action Plans. Plan 2 Bruce Moore Chairperson Plan 3 Bobby Jones tl Plan 4 Sterling Ingram - 11 Plan 5 Valerie Hudson tl Final drafts of all Action Plans are due at our next Task Force meeting. Because of a scheduling conflict I have changed the meeting date to July 10th at 5:30 p.m. in the LRSD Boardroom, 810 W. Markham Street, office @324-2162. If this time is not convenient, please call my With your final drafts, please include a roster of all individuals who served on your subcommittee. I am looking forward to our next meeting on 7/10/96. 810 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)324-2000Office of Desegregation Monitoring United Stales Districl Court Eastern Oistrict ot Arionsas Ann S. Brown, Federal Monitor 201 East Markham, Suite 510 Heritage West Building Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)376-6200 Fax (501) 371-0100 DATE: t TO: _J(luAu L.R<ib :3.ZVL. nr>)r} NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER SH . MESSAGE: kti/ >v-e Th S-/^ Zz>,.^V l/i\<ULC'_ i leVKgyxr-Jk) klLzJ W 0-^ revKgy^Jk) y- ) 07/10*/1996 10:33 6 PAGE 02 CTIQNFLAN strategy #10, Plan #1 This subcommittee is chaired by kwami (Project SupervisorDrug-Free Schools & Communities Emergency Grant). Members include Margie Powell (Associate MonitorOffice of Desegregation Monitoring), Nancy Rousseau (Assistant PrincipalLittle Rock Central High School), and SRO Gregory Mobley (Little Rock Police Department). TC- Upon reviewing the LRSD 1994 Safety and Security Task Force Recommendations Implementation Checklist compiled on January 12, 1995, this subcommittee has determined that 81% of the schools in this district currently have implemawtad violence prevention curriculum and conflict mediation programs. Tliese curriculum and programs vary in content due to the needs of the school. This sub-committee also agrees that the LRSD Pupil Services Department currently has a successful conflict resolution/peer mediation program called the Peer Advisory Council. <xxc UJ In addition, thi3-3ttb=committcjs aware of several conflict resolution programs which may serve as models to assist us in our work. Two programs in particular are L.O.V.E. (Let Our Violence End) and S.A.V.E- (Students Against Violence Everywhere). The latter af whieh is of special interest because it is a student-based program. Our plan is to first survey all schools to ascertain exactly where each school is in the implementation of their violence prevention curriculum and conflict mediation program. We are interested in learning about the t^ferent curriculum and programs being used and their effectiveness. In August, we'lni^iate a survey (proposed copy attached) through the Pupil Services Department.07/13/1996 10:33 PAGE 03 The goal of this sub-committee is to provide-en-going conflict resolution training and skill development for students. In doing so, we will organize a team to identify/develop training modules regarding conflict resolutionT^eam will include students, youth group representatives, law ^orcement officials, parents, school district staff, citizens and representatives from judicial system. OBJECTIVE #1 "Convene student focus gixaups to review and revise content/ ? C>\S > Assigned to: Starting date
Due date: Completion date: Assistant Principals & Counselors August 26, 1996 September 9, 1996 NOTE
Ea^us^fco^ will accomplish this objective forthe^irpese-ef reviewing that school's curriculum and program. The student focus group, along with an assistant principal and counselor, will complete the survey we send them. OBJECTIVE #2Complete final draft and prepare for printing and distribution. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date: Completion date: Sub-committee September 9, 1996 September 23, 1996 NOTE: This sub-committee will examine the data collected from the returned surveys, and recommend actions to each school. OBJECTIVE #3"Develop a school-based dehvery networic. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date
Completion date: Student Focus Groups, Assistant Principals & Counselors September 9, 1996 October 7, 1996 NOTE: The school-based delivery network should be inclusive of ev^F^ s^alspl 'here^- students, teachers, administrators, and support faculty. Parents'*.___ to participate. (This sub-committee also recognizes the importance of MnWct Is^^ encou raged resolution training beig-npleTented-on all LRSD properties.) 6 7 ^0' OBJECTIVE #4--Develop a public awareness plan to inform students, parents and school district staff of module content and training schedule. Assigned to: Sub-committee & Student Focus Groups Starting date
September 30, 1996 Due date: Completion date: OBJECTIVE #5--Develop a train-the-trainer model that includes youth peer trainers paired with teachers. Assigned to:07/10^1996 10:33 6 PAGE 04 Starting date: Due date: Completion date: OBJECTIVE #6'-Recruit teachers and student trainees and conduct training sessions. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date: Completion date: Assistant Principals & Counselors September OBJECTIVE #7Develop delivety schedule. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date: Completion date: Student Focus Groups September 16, 1996 September SO, 1996 OBJECTIVE #8Conduct training sessions. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date: Completion date: Assistant Principals & Counselors OBJECTIVE #9--Evaluate effectiveness of training effort. Assigned to: Starting date: Due date: Completion date:RECEIVF'' JUL J 5 1996 Little Rock School District Pupil Services Department July 11, 1996 Office di Des&sregaiion Momtonng MEMO TO: Safety & Securit Task Force Members FROM: SUBJECT: Jo Evelyn Elstort/Director of Pupil Services 1996-97 Meeting Schedule our July 10th meeting, the 199697 school year was adopted: following meeting schedule for the September 5, 1996 December 12, 1996 March 6, 199^7 June 5, 1997 All meetings will be held in the LRSD Administration BoanSSfOoa' at
Thank you again our work. I'm confident that equally as smoothly. Please to give Progress Reports on i for the great job in the action planning phase of the implementation phase will proceed be prepared at the September meeting the implementation of each Action Plan. Committee chairs who were asked to have the final copy of your not present at the July 10th meeting are Action Plan to me on or before July 18/ 1997. Have a great summer!EDITORIALS 4 <I 1 I I men and the hand of Prov- School safety first Dont let it happen here hanks to a couple of good searches. , . Then there was the near-j idence, a shooting was shooting at Rightsell Elementary 1 narrowly averted not long ago at nearly a year ago. No one was Little Rocks historic Central High there to pin that woman to a wall, School, which ought to be known or take her gun away She aimed as a center of academic excel- it point-blank at her sons teacher, lence not for struggles over In the presence of 20 students, she handguns in the halls. Yet a group pulled the trigger. Once. Twice, of frightened students watched in Each time the gun misfired harm-near- panic on that day as the prin- lessly. Providential. cipal, John Hickman, pinned a gun-toting young woman to the wall with the assistance of his vice principal, Michael Peterson. Was this scene necessary? It might not have been if society placed as high a premium on young people as its does on airline passengers. Its routine by now to pass through a metal de-tector on the way to your flight. If Principals, teachers, and students alike must be counting down these last days of the school year like front-line soldiers waiting for the hour when the truce goes into effect. Sure, not all schools have this kind of trouble, but those that do are entitled to a little peace, and peace of i mind. Kids and teachers one had been in place at the en- concentrate on trance to Central, this sordid lit- oj the prom, or the big. tie drama in a school hallway avoid a fire- < might have been avoided. fight in the hall. i Need any more evidence that There are times w__h_e_n_ P_rovi- * pass-through metal detectors are dence could use a little help, and needed at some schools? Earlier even some modern technology, this month, a shakedown at the Such as the screening devices , high school turned up four bul- ^sed to secure airport lounges. * lets (but no gun) and a set of brass Arent schools at least as impor-knuckles. The search was occa- tant? I I sioned by the discovery of a firearm .o n the sidew--a--l-k-- -o--u-t-s--i-d--e-. Copy to Mac Bernd, next su- Knives, including a long butcher perintendent of the Little Rock knife, have been seized in other School District. Arkansas Democrat Established 1871 Established 1819 Aikansas Democrat (gazette An Independent Daily and Sunday Newspaper Walter E. Hussman, Jr., Publisher John R. Starr Managing Editor Paul Greenberg Editorial Page Editor Paul R. Smith V.P. / General Manager Lynn Hamilton V.P. /Operations John Mobbs Advertising Director Larry Graham Circulation Director Estel Jeffery, Jr. Director of Promotions SB ,SATURDAY, MAY 30,1992 1 1 1 J I t Arkansas Democrat WCSazcttc FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12. 1993 Cooyright 0 1993, Little Rock Newsoaoers, Inc. LRSD to tape game-goers add officers to curb fighting BY CYNTHIA HOWELL Democrat-Gazette Education Writer The Little Rock School District plans to hire extra police officers and videotape spectators to improve security at junior and senior high school basketball games and other indoor events. The precautions are being taken after fights recently disrupted games at three different schools, officials said Thursday in announcing their plans. Officials said that in all three cases the disturbances were started by people who were not students at the schools. Under the new procedures, only students from the participating schools will be allowed into the games unless accompanied by an adult. xA.nd the district will continue to use handheld metal detectors to scan spectators for weapons. Dianne Woodruff, district director of communications, said the safety measures were decided earlier this week in a meeting between district administrators and the principals of the junior and senior high schools. The new measures, plus others, already are used at some of the schools, but an effort will be made to use them consistently at all schools. Cost of the added security will be about $3,000. most of which will be used to hire 11 more off-duty officers to work at the games. The high schools will have a total of four off-duty officers plus the campus security guards at each event. Each junior high will have three off- duty officers plus campus security guards per event. The exceptions to those numbers will be at Central High School, which uses six off-duty officers, and Dunbar Magnet Junior High, which will use four. One other cost will be the expense of hiring people to videotape the spectators as they enter the school gymnasiums and as they watch the games. The cost will range from between $15 and $18 per night. As many as three games are played per night on game nights at a school. For example, a junior varsity, boys varsity and girls varsity game might be played in one evening. Woodruff said the schools already have video equipment, so new equipment purchases wont be necessary. 'The videotapes will be used to identify anyone who might be involved in a disturbance. The schools will post signs notifying the audiences that taping is being done for security reasons. The stepped-up security procedures also will include development of a written plan for each school that will cover placement of security guards and police officers in the gymnasium and list their assigned duties. A visiting and host administrator from the two competing schools are required to be present at all activities to identify students from the participating schools. Students will be required to show identification or offer other proof that they are enrolled in the participating schools. The Little Rock district also reserves the right to restrict admission to all school events. Among other precautions, the schools will charge admission to the games throughout an entire game. Only parents will be admitted to a game after the start of the fourth quarter of play, and all small children and those under the age of the participating schools student bodies must be accompanied by a parent.Arkansas Democrat (gazette WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1993 Letters School, community safety are related Max Brantley on Arkansas Week referred to the loss of students in public schools, saying, Although the schools are safe, the communities in Little Rock are not. Someone commented on the huge increase in teenage crime. Isn't it obvious there's a correlation between the two problems? Public schools teach an ideology that says man is supreme, laws and morals come from man, and there is no higher authority than man, so we either determine our own morals or submit to someone else's morals. Offering any teaching about the sovereignty of God as creator and supreme authority to whom everyone is accountable is forbidden, so schools are left free to teach the religion of human worship and disdain of God. Teen-agers come out of these schools and practice the self-centered religion they have been taught. They have to find good within themselves using their gut feelings as their standard
then theyre expected to obey someone elses laws. When the Judeo-Christian God is rejected, we are accountable for our actions only to some human authority. It makes no sense to say that morals and laws come from mans thinking and then try to persuade anyone that any mans thinking is superior. These teenagers are not stupid
they logically conclude that their own thinking is just as valid as yours or mine. Why is anyone surprised? SABRA FARRELL Little RockAuthorities see volatile mix of teens and handguns in the schools BY JOE STUMPE AND JAKE SANDUN Ai Democrat-Gazette Staff Wiiters 15-year-old Southwest Junior High School student is chased down the street by four teens with a .357-caliber Magnum as teachers at nearby Bale Elementary School herd students inside. Security officers who stop a car circling Central High School find three teens, two handguns and a walkie-talkie inside. A 15-year-old Pulaski Heights student pulls a .25-caliber automatic out of his pocket in front of Woodruff Elementary School and points it at a dog. The episodes, culled from just one month of Little Rock police reports . during the last school year, are examples of the kind of violence the Little Rock School District, the states largest. confronts on a regular basis. Years ago, we went to school and could concern ourselves with teaching, Eleanor Coleman, president of the Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association, said. Now youve got to concern yourself with someone in your classroom who is sitting there with a gun or knife and, if you say the wrong t hing, they might attack you or another student , i District records show there were 75 assaults by students on fellow students and 13 assaults on staff during the 1992- 93 school year. Assaults are a more serious offense than fights, of which there were 1,044. Forty-seven weapons in-eluding 14 firearms were discovered olence is a growing problem across the on students or sch ool ground s. state, said Grainger Ledbetter, presi- Dr. Henry Williams, the districts new superintendent, said in his first speech since taking the job: The first issue is safety in our schools. Thats the Number 1 thing Ive heard from community groups. In a later interview, Williams said he had not meant to imply that district schools are not safe. Williams said the parents with whom he has spoken have a very comfortable feeling about the schools. But he added, They feel there are certain circumstances that may exist in the community that might cause problems to seep into the schools. Its an urban school district and urban districts have urban problems. Not that school violence is limited to Little Rock. Statewide during the 1991-92 school year, the most recent year for which complete figures are available, 1,071 weapons were found on students or school grounds, 39,807 lights among students were recorded and 812 staff members were assaulted. (The latter figure includes verbal assaults.) Theres a consensus among teachers that discipline is declining and vident of the Arkansas Education Association. Ledbetter said the AEA board is expected to appoint a task force next month to come up with legislation and programs design^ to address the problem of violence in schools. In a survey of 3,386 Arkansas high school students conducted by the state Department of Education during the last school year, 14 percent said they had carried a weapon onto school property. Fifteen percent said they had carried a gun in the 30 days preceding the survey. Students responding to the survey, sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and released Aug. 17, represent about 3 percent of the states ninth through 12th-graders. Because the states response rate was 41 percent, the figures were not considered indicative of all Arkansas teens. 1 Calvin (not his actual name), a 17- year-old who at one time was active in gang activity in the Little Rock area, said keeping weapons out of schools is impossible. There aint no gun-free schools. Aint no drug-free schools, he said. The only thing the principals can do is to keep them as gun-free and drug-free as they possibly can. But, one way or another, theyre going to get it in there if they want to get it in there, In Pine Bluff, security guards patrol the high school and staff members use hand-held metal detectors on a random basis to check for weapons in grades 7 through 12. Students are prevented from wearing baggy pants, crooked hats or throwing gang signs with their hands. Superintendent Willis Alderson said. We do not tolerate gang activities on our school campuses, Alderson said. In West Memphis, staff members use metal detectors on a random basis in the schools and check everyone who comes to ball games. Little Rocks Williams said the violence by students reflects deeply rooted problems. Theres so much hopelessness on the part of our young people, and they express it as hostility. Arkansas Democrat :r(5azcttc SUNDAY, ocTOBtH a, laaa Arkansas Oemocrat-Gazstts/Staton BrtedenthaJ Guns confiscated by Little Rock police in school-related incidents. LR schools miss target for weapon searches Only 3 comply as district directive loses edge in administrative shuffle 2^^ BY OLIVIER UYTTEBROUCK Democrat-Gazette Police Reporter Only a few of the Little Rock School Districts secondary schools have performed the minimum number of required weapon searches, records show. Central High School has one of the worst records. The districts largest high school is down for only three searches a fraction of the number required since school began Aug. 23. District officials said the school has performed two additional searches not yet reflected in records. Even at that, Central ha.s conducted fewer searches than all but one other school in the district. Former Superintendent Mac Bernd issued a secondaryschool search directive in October 1992, about a week after Parkview Magnet High School teacher Debbie Fulbright was stabbed more than 60 times by a student. District ofiicials say the directive, which sets minimum search requirements, has hel'ped curb weapons at schools. Nine weeks into the current school year, only one student has been disciplined districtwide for carrying a firearm onto a campus, according to district data. During the 1992-93 school year, 14 students were suspended or expelled for j,os- session of a firearm. The directive require.^ al least two all-school searches a month. Ideally, in such a search, all .students are scanned with hand held metal detectors and their purses and backpacks are inspected. Records show Central performed all-school searches on Aug. 23 and Aug. 27. A district official said Friday the school performed a third all-school search Oct. 15. The directive also requires at least two random searches a week. School ofTicials select any number of classrooms or buses and quickly search students. Locker inspections also qualify as random searches. Records reflect only one random search on Sept. 20 at Cen- tfal. A Central assistant princi- K Im 11 I li I Arkansas Democrat iiS^CBazcUe Weapons Continued from Page 1A , Only three of the districts 14 secondary schools comply with a strict reading of the directive. Only four meet the districts c,^Lfor two random searches a week. On the other hand, several Schools have exceeded the number of required searches. Dunbar Junior High School, for example, has done six allschool searches and 27 random searches. Turnovers in top district administrators, including the resignation of Bernd, left the weapon search program with little direct supervision. I Im going to begin monitoring this thing beginning Monday. Bill Barnhouse, the districts security director, said Thursday. .The directive requires the schools to send reports detailing-searches to Barnhouses se- cuirity ofTice and to the associ- at&iSuperintendent of school operations an ofiice that no longer exists. I LWhen the directive was is- sued a year ago. the office was held by Janet Bernard, who resigned in June. Deputy Superintendent Estelle Matthis assumed Bernards duties at that time. I was wearing many hats for d while. she said Friday. Matthis said she received a telephone call about three weeks ago from a student who said searches werent being performed at the school. She said she then called Central Principal Rudolph Howard, who acknowledged he wasnt performing the required number of searches. I advised him that he was to begin scanning immediately, Matthis said Wednesday. I was assured by the principal this would take place. 5^ Weapons searches Total number of searches performed af Little Rock School Distnct schools isince Aug. 23, according to district records. High schools Central
Hal1 'd.A. Fair i McClellan "Parkview ?'Metropoli'an Albschool* Random** jr. high schools '.Cloverdale ifDunbar Forest Heights uHenderson /Mabelvale .'Mann ^Pulaski Heights 2 4 4 4 4 5 3 6 2 4 4 1 5 7 *6outhwest Adult Learning Ctr. 1 ,4>S f^is ^@1 sF FT T J-. .^1^
> Arkansas Democi a/David uc ON PATROL Little Rock police officers J.W. Smith (left) and Aaron Johnson keep a watch recently on activities around Central High School in Little Rock. The school has one of the worst records for compliance with the minimum number of weapon searches required by the school district. pal said a second random search was made Wednesday. Central High isnt alone in its apparent disregard for the directive. Horace Mann Art.s and Science M^-:net Junior High School has performed one all-school search and three random searches this school year. And Cloverdale Junior High School has done three all-school searches and 13 random searches. See WEAPONS, Page 13A SUNDAY. NOVEMBER?, 1993 lift Matthis said Howard, who began as Central's principal in August, apparently was unaware of the directive. She said she sent Howard a copy of the directive on Wednesday. Matthis said she didnt know whether Central has performed searches since her conversation with Howard three weeks ago. If they are not. that will be dealt with, Matthis said. Im taking this seriously. She refused to say what measures she was considering. Howard couldnt be reached for comment. Michael Peterson, an assistant principal at Central, said school staff performed a random search Wednesday of 35 to 40 classrooms. That search 1 6 15 23 11 16 13 27 22 14 e 3 2 9 8 /An-.fchool searches - Schools are ,Aq^ed to perform two all-school searches > permorrth. Ideally, every studer^l Is -scanned with metal detectors and all dait^s are searched. ' Flapdom searches - Schools are required id perform two random searches per week, -^ically. they Involva surprise searches of Selected dassroome. buses, etc. iSeuroe: LRSD Office of Saleh' * Security brings the schools total for the year to three all-school searches and two random searches. Peterson said school officials also search lockers and scan people entering athletic contests searches not reflected in reports on file at the security office. We have a safe environment at Central, Peterson said. Peterson pointed to the schools five-man security staff and full-time patrols of two campus parking lots as evidence of efforts at the school. Little-Rock police also are playing a larger role this year, both inside and outside Central. In August the school was as- signed a full-time police officer, called a school resource officer. Also in August, two bicycle officers began patrolling nearby. The bicycle officers J.W. Smith and Aaron Johnson have become a familiar sight around the school. They confront carloads of youths in the area, order drivers to turn down stereos and challenge anyone suspicious. Smith and Johnson said fear motivates students to take weapons to school. If police and school officials eliminate . the fear, the weapons disappear, they said. Gunfire is no longer common in the school area as it was last year, the officers said. They also take credit for driving out the operators of a crack house that did business earlier this year on Park Street near the school. I The word is, theyre not going to do it at Central High,* Smith said. Thats the word we put out." VJ For whatever reasons, the number of students in the di^ trict suspended or expelled f62 possessing firearms droppSfl last year, according to the Bira* cial Advisory Committee fey port. In the 1992-93 school year, 14 students were suspended or eji pelled for possession of-a firearm, the committee repoHr ed. That compares with 23 fbi* the 1991-92 school year. In the 1990-91 school year, -a students were suspended or pelled for possession firearms.Aikansas Democrat gazette FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1993 CopyrigM O 1993. Little Rock Newspapers. Inc. Police, personnel take up posts for last day of school BY JAKE SANDLIN Oemocmt*Gazette Staff Writer Secondary schools in the Ut- tle Rock School District will have off-duty police officers on school grounds for the last day of school again this year. The last day has become an annual period for precaution in Pulaski Countys three school districts. Administrators ride school buses, and city police step up patrols to try to ensure that summer vacation begins safely. All three districts finish classes Thursday. Bill Barnhouse, the Little Rock districts director of safety and security, said through a district spokesman Thursday that off-duty police officers will be hired for the last school day to be in the halls and on the grounds at each of the districts eight junior highs and five high schools. Last year, the district hired 10 uniformed off-duty officers and sheriffs deputies to be on selected junior and senior high campuses for the final school day. Each made $15 per hour for a 3'/!-hour afternoon shift. Usually, the last day we patrol pretty heavily around some of the schools, said Lt. Charles E. Holladay, Little Rock Police Department spokesman. Im sure well have additional patrols. The Pulaski County Special School District doesnt plan to hire extra security, but some administrators and volunteers will pull bus duty and every night security officer will work, said Ed Hogan, the districts assistant superintendent of support services. Students are anxious," Hogan said. They sometimes get overanxious and get a little bit careless. The North Little Rock School District doesnt plan to hire extra police officers but will have additional staff for the last day and will request increased patrols around schools, Bobby Acklin, assistant superintendent of student affairs, said through a district spokesman.Arkansas Democrat WltOazclle SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1994 LRSD meets on seeurity, bars media BY CYNTHIA HOWELL Democrat-Gazette Education Writer Just hours after a national safety consultant urged the Lit- tle.Rock School Board to be open with the community about school security, district administrators barred the news media from a principals meeting on the subject. George Butterfield, deputy director for operations for the National School Safety Center at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, told the school board Thursday night that district officials must be "bone honest with the public about safety and security issues. "You must offer full disclo- | sure, otherwise you sink yourselves, he said. "You can turn community skepticism around with disclosure. Butterfield made the comments in response to board member John Riggs IV, who asked how the district could improve the publics perception of school safety in Little Rock. District ofTicials should make their efforts to address safety concerns very clear and invite Ilie community including law euforcement, government and juvenile court authorities to help implement plans, Butter- I field said. Butterfield, who has consulted with the Little Rock district since 1989 on security, praised the district for being realistic about the possibilities of vio- J^ice in the schools. Some districts in the country deny they could have problems, he said. -'rButterfield was set to meet with principals and assistant principals at 8:30 a.m. Friday at Parkview Magnet High School to discuss school security and to design school safety plans. Deputy Superintendent Estelle Matthis, through spokesman Jeanette Wagner, barred members of the media from the session. Wagner said the principals wouldnt feel comfortable publicly discussing safety issues. Matthis barred the press although other top-level administrators had earlier said the media would be welcome. Dr. Henry Williams, the districts superintendent, late last year created a community panel to recommend safety improvements to the school board. The panel is the second established by the district since 1989. An earlier task force developed a comprehensive report that included recommendations for establishing a district security office and starting an anti-violence curriculum. The district invited Butterfield to Little Rock. He spent three days touring district schools and the transportation department. He is expected to submit a written recommendations to the district in the next few weeks. There is no fee for Butterfields services.WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19,1994 3B LRSD board to vote on letting security guards bargain as uiflt The Little Rock School Board will vote next week on whether to recognize the districts security guards as a collective bargaining unit in annual employment contract negotiations. If the board recognizes them as a unit, the district then would conduct an election on whether the Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association would be its official representative in contract talks. Most of the guards have already joined CTA. CTA represents teachers, aides, bus drivers and custodians in contract talks. The.SS- member security guard unit would be the smallest of the bargaining units in the district 1 Dr. Henry Williams, district superintendent, has rec.om- mended that the board recognize the unit at its Jan. 27 meeting.'Armed teens eredo: 'You gotta shoot them before they shoot you BY JAKE SANDLIN Oemocral-Gazette Slall Wiiler Upset over bis parents being called (o Hall High .School, the sludenl boiled from an assislanl principals office. Onlsidc the building that February morning in 1992. James Washington, then a fir.sl- year assistant principal al Ilall, was told by the teenagers inolh- er what every school administrator has come lo fear: The student had a gun. Wasliinglon found him in back of a classroom filled with maybe 29 other students. He motioned for the student lo come outside. The boy's hand was under bis coat. Ue came lo the doorway and he demanded my car keys, Washington recalled. He tried lo stall the boy, but again there wa.s a demand for the keys. Ue then took a step back and started to pull the weapon. Washington lunged, grabbing Hie boy's hand. Ue felt the gun clasped in the boys grip. Ue felt the hammer of the gun cut into ' his own hand. "There were students in the hallway and I remember hearing someone say, Hes got a Heeding public outcry, Congress appears primed to forbid assault-type weapons BY CAROLYN SKORNECK Assoclnled Press Writer WASHINGTON Guns weigh heavily on the American psyche, and Congress appears poise(l lo respond by banning the inanufaclurc and sale of new assaull-lype weapons that mimic firearms intended for combat. Tills would be an extraordinary move for an institution known for its long standing resistance lo gun control and gun! Washington said. "I screamed for everyone to get down. We were banging against lockers, rolling around on the ground. ... It was the kind of sluff youd see on TV, actually. The gun finally came loose and into Washington's grasp. A security officer and another school official held the teenager until police arrived. Il was a fully loaded six-shot Colt .38-caliber revolver. An- olhcr seven rounds were in the student's coat pocket. It apparil would be the second time in less than a year that Congress moved to limit the availability of guns. Supporters, and even an opponent. say they expect the voles lo be there lo pass the measure this year. Rut the National Rifle Association says its gearing up for a battle. President Clinton got extended Democratic applause when he called for Hie ban in See WEAPONS, Page 6A ently had been brought from home. The boy was 14. The student received 18 months probation and completed a Juvenile Services Center Alternative School program, according to county officials. The .38-caliber revolver remains in the Little Hock Police Departments property room. Thal case involved one of 496 juvenile arrests for weapons possession in Arkansas that 4 See GUNS, Page 5A Arkaiisas Democrat "grtSazcKc > SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 1994 . in circuit court instead of juvenile court. The Safe Schools Act strengthened criminal penalties for handgun possession on school grounds, added school buses and school bus zones to the handgun possession law, recognized leaching as a protected profession (as are other high-risk professions, such as law enforcement), and raised from misdemeanor to felony status the terrorizing of a teacher or other school employee with threats that cause phy.sical injury or property damage. Carrying a handgun on school property in Arkansas is a Class D felony. Thal means a maximum six years in the penitentiary. A 1990 federal law prohibits the possession or firing of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a public, private or parochial school. Conviction is punishable by a minimum fine of$5,000 and up to five years in prison. However, Stodola said the federal statute is aimed at adults, not armed juveniles. He said Arkansas law provides a tougher standard. Guns Continued from Page 1A year. But its the juveniles' willingness to use those weapons, handguns in particular, that has reached more shocking proportions nationwide and even locally.
In 1993, there were 21 teenagers charged with murder in Little Rock. In the six years dishing a Tec-9 semi-automatic from 1983-88. all of Pulaski pistol. County had just eight. Juveniles are more often the Pulaski County Juvenile Court Judge Rita Gruber, who sees all sorts of weaponry come through her court, has her ideas as to why. "Ils the old Wild West theory, Gruber speculated one afternoon in her office at the pital treated 177 gunshot countys Juvenile Detention wounds to youths under 18 in Center. where a metal detector greets all comers. 111 meet you at the OK Corral and we'll settle our disputes in that fashion." Its a mind-set learned in a juveniles home and neighborhood, she said. They see that kind of lethal handling of confrontations all around them, then have it glorified through violence in movies and on television, she added. , - "I think it's reinforcing the idea that you just take things .into your own hands, Gruber said. Most people don't fight any- ^niore. They get a gun, said a 17- year-old male, sitting with three jother teens from a Get Ready the juvenile crime issue literal- Program session fordelinquent ly struck closer to home. youths at the Watershed Human " and Community Development Agency. The weekday program provides education, job-application Broadway office, which is be- skills and rehabilitation to juveniles who have been suspended from school or have criminal charges against them. Many are gang members or "wannabes. They pull a gun on me. I'm going to get a gun and go back," another 18-year-old participant said. "Then, somebodys going to end up dead. You gotta shoot them before they shoot you. That's how it works" Juvenile arrests for weapons possession in Arkansas increased 45 percent from 1991 to 1992. The number of murders, rapes, robberies and weapons .possession by juveniles has signifying a gang affiliation. soared 86 percent in the past four years. Arkansas Crime Information Center figures released late last year showed. The teen-agers charged with murder during Lillie Rocks record year of 76 homicides included one involved in three separate slayings and two accused of killing a city police officer. Two others, ages 14 and 15. were killed while trying to rob a liquor store, one branvictims than before, also. From 1985-1990. the nations death rates by firearms among the ages of 15-19 soared 77 percent, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Arkansas Childrens Hos- the last 18 months, the hospital recently reported. Sieve Nawojezyk. Pulaski County coroner for the last eight years, has said he will leave office at the end of his term this year. A major reason: The heavy emotional toll on him from the increasing number of murdered children. Mark Stodola, Pulaski County prosecuting altorney, helped lead the successful legislative push for stronger criminal penalties for juveniles during the 1993 General Assembly session. On a Sunday night last fall. "6ne of my neighbors ran up and said, Some kid just stuck a gun in my face! " Stodola recounted in an interview at his hind locked doors controlled by a receptionist. The neighbor had spotted a teen-ager around cars belonging to dinner-party guests. Confronting the teen, the neighbor suddenly was looking down a gun barrel. When police arrived. Stodola rode with an officer he knew. Shortly after, they spotted two teens. One ran. The other was arrested. "Sure enough, he had a five- shot, expensive, small revolver, Stodola said. "It wasnt a Saturday night special. Il was about a $150, $200 gun. ... He was 16 years old. He had a blue rag on, Here was a gun you wouldn't think a 16 year-old would have access to. but he does," Stodola said. "If I wanted a gun and I had $25, $40, $50,1 could have one in 10 minutes depending on how far I am from where they are, the Rev. Hezekiah Stewart, Watersheds executive director, said. If 1 was close, less than that. Some steal or borrow a parents gun. then return it, the parent never knowing it was missing. Gang members and drug dealers have guns available to deal. Crack cocaine addicts are traded drugs for guns bought legally, illegally or through burglaries. Pawnshop break-ins also net a cache of firepower. Gesturing toward a metal trash drum in the Watershed hallway, an 18-year-old said, "If you give me enough money, and the lime, I could fill that trash can up with .25s and .22s. You go to any housing project," a 17-year-old sitting across from (he other said, "there will be a drug dealer there who'll have three or four guns he wants to sell you. Dope fiends ... they'll do anything just to get that crack. Asked why a youngster would carry a gun, all four teens sitting in the hallway at Watershed gave the same answer, almost in unison. Protection. A gun and use of one is also for show and to achieve status within a gang. The more serious the offense, the bigger the step. Stodola said his office has documented 46 gangs in Pulaski County, categorized through such ways as clothing and general characteristics, as well as their propensity to arm themselves. "They love to pose with their guns, Stodola said, lowering his chin and crossing his hands across his chest as if they were pistols. Protection is also the No. 1 response Gruber hears in court for why a juvenile had a gun at school. In the usual situation, the gun would be brought from home, she added, taken without a parent's or grandparents knowledge. The adult may have acquired the gun legally and hidden it. Most of the lime, however, the juveniles lie about where they got their guns. "Theyll say they found the gun. Thal they were just walking down the street and they found it behind a bush or found it in a ditch. Gruber said. Sho didnt remember anyone ever admitting lo an illegal gun buy- on the street. Many efforts are under way nationally to get guns off the street and out of the hands of young people. When local bail bondsman Bobby Cox followed up on similar efforts across the country for trading guns for money or merchandise, the response was overwhelming. Offering $50 for any working gun turned in Jan. 22, a Saturday afternoon, Cox had to shell out $16,700 for 335 guns 219 of those handguns, some rusty, some polished chrome. At least four later checked had been stolen, but the swap followed a no-questions policy. In another gun swap spon sored by Arkansas Children's Hospital, five other corporations and seven police departments, police officers will collect guns Feb. 5 at War Memorial Stadium in exchange for gift certifi- cales from Harvest Foods, another sponsor. An Arkansas Department of Education survey of almost 3,400 state high school students from the 1992-93 school year reported that 15 percent said they had taken a gun onio school property in the preceding 30 days. In its 1993 session, the Arkansas Legislature passed the state Safe Schools Act. It included enhanced criminal penalties for handgun possession on school grounds or a school bus. Also, the Arkansas Criminal Gang Organization and Enterprise Act became law. That created several new crime distinctions, including drive-by shootings, based on gang affiliation. Among other effects, the acts made a second-offense handgun possession by a minor a felony. The added teeth also give prosecutors added discretion to look al background and possible gang ties in order to prosecuteI Armed teens credo: You gotta shoot them before they shoot you BY JAKE SANDLIN Democial-Garella Stall Wiiter Upset over his parents being called lo Hall High School, the sludent bolted from an assislant principals onice. Outside the building Hint February morning in 1992, Jtimc.s Wn.shinglon, then a first- year assistant principal al Hall, was told by the teenagers inolh- cr what every school administrator has come to fear: The student had a gun. Washington found him in back of a classroom filled with maybe 20 other students. lie motioned for the student lo come outside. The boy's hand was under his coal. Ue came to the doorway and he demanded my car keys, Washington recalled. He tried lo stall the hoy, but again there wa.s a demand for the keys. He then took a step back and started lo pull the weapon. Washington lunged, grabbing the boy's hand. He fell the gun clasped in the boy's grip. He felt the hammer of the gun cut into ' his own hand. There were students in the hallway and 1 remember hearing someone say, Hes got a Heeding public outcry, Congress appears primed to forbid assault-type weapons DY CAROLYN SKORNECK AssociBiPd Press Wiiter WASHINGTON Guns weigh lienvily on the American psyche, ninl Congres.s appears poised lo respond by banning the inannfaclnre and sale of new assault-type weapons that mimic firearms intended for combat. This would be an extraordinary move for an institution known for its long standing resistance to gun control and gun! Washington said. I screamed for everyone to get down. We were banging against lockers, rolling around on the ground. ... It was the kind of stuff youd see on TV. actually. The gun finally came loose and into Washingtons grasp. A security officer and another school official held the teenager until police arrived. It was a fully loaded six-shot Colt .3R-caliber revolver. An- olher seven round.s were in the sl i^udent's coat pocket. It appar- it would be the second time in less than a year that Congress moved lo limit the availability ofguns. Supporters, and even an opponent, say they expect the voles to be there to pass the measure lids year. But the National Rifle Association says its gearing up for a battle. President Clinton got extended Democratic applause when lie called for Hie ban in See WEAPONS. Page 6A ently had been brought from home. The boy was 14. The student received 10 months probation and completed a Juvenile Services Center Alternative School program, according to county officials. The .30-caliber revolver remains in the Little Rock Police Department's properly room. That case involved one of 496 juvenile arrests for weapons possession in Arkansas that i See GUNS, Page 5A ArkansasDemocrat S(5iizvllc SUNDAY. JANUARY 30, 1994 in circuit court instead of juvenile court. The Safe Schools Act strengthened criminal penalties for handgun possession on school grounds, added school buses and school bus zones to the handgun possession law, recognized teaching as a protected profession (as are other high-risk professions, such as law enforcement), and raised from misdemeanor to felony status the terrorizing of a teacher or other school employee with threats that cause physical injury or property damage. Cart7ing a handgun on school property in Arkansas is a Class D felony. Thal means a maximum six years in the penitentiary. A 1990 federal law prohibits the possession or firing of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a public, private or parochial school. Conviction is punishable by a minimum fine of $5,000 and up to five years in prison. However. Stodola said the federal statute is aimed at adults, not armed juveniles. He said Arkansas law provides a tougher standard. Guns Continued from Page 1A year. But its the juveniles willingness to use those weapons, handguns in particular, that has reached more shocking proportions nationwide and even locally. In 1993, there were 21 teenagers charged with murder in Little Rock. In the six years from 1983-88, all of Pulaski County had just eight. Pulaski County Juvenile Court Judge Rita Gruber, who sees all sorts of weaponry come through her court, has her ideas as to why. "Its the old Wild West theory," Gruber speculated one afternoon in her office at the countys Juvenile Detention Center, where a metal detector greets all comers. I'll meetyou at the OK Corral and well settle our disputes in that fashion. Its a mind-set learned in a juveniles home and neighborhood, she said. They see that kind of lethal handling of confrontations all around them, then have it glorified through violence in movies and on television, she added. think its reinforcing the idea that you just take things into your own hands, Gruber said. '' Most people don't fight any- -rribre. They get a gun, said a 17- year-old male, sitting with three
other teens from a "Get Ready Program session for delinquent youths at the Watershed Human and Community Development Agency. The weekday program provides education, job-application skills and rehabilitation to juveniles who have been suspended from school or have criminal charges against them. Many are gang members or wannabes.' "They pull a gun on me, I'm going to get a gun and go back," another 18-year-old participant said. "Then, somebodys going to end up dead. "You gotta shoot them before they shoot you. That's how it works. Juvenile arrests for weapons possession in Arkansas increased 45 percent from 1991 to 1992. The number of murders, rapes, robberies and weapons .possession by juveniles has soared 86 percent in the past four years, Arkansas Crime Information Center figures released late last year sliowed. The teen agers charged with murder during Little Rocks record year of IG homicides included one involved in three separate slayings and two accused of killing a city police officer. Two others, ages 14 and 15. were killed while trying to rob a liquor store, one brandishing a Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol. .1 uveniles are more often the victims than before, also. From 1985-1990, the nations death rales by firearms among the ages of 15-19 soared 77 percent, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Arkansas Childrens Hospital treated 177 gunshot wounds to youths under 18 in the last 18 months, the hospital recently reported. Steve Nawojezyk, Pulaski County coroner for the last eight years, has said he will leave office at the end of his term this year. A major reason: The heavy emotional toll on him from the increasing number of murdered children. Mark Stodola, Pulaski County prosecuting attorney, helped lead the successful legislative push for stronger criminal penalties for juveniles during the 1993 General Assembly session. On a Sunday night last fall, the juvenile crime issue literally struck closer to home. "One of my neighbors ran up and said, Some kid just stuck a gun In my face! " Stodola recounted in an interview at his Broadway office, which Is behind locked doors controlled by a receptionist. The neighbor had spotted a teen-ager around cars belonging to dinner party guests. Confronting the teen, the neighbor suddenly was looking down a gun barrel. When police arrived, Stodola rode with an officer he knew. Shortly after, they spotted two teens. One ran. The other was arrested. "Sure enough, he had a five- shot, expensive, small revolver, Stodola said. "It wasnt a Saturday night special. It was about a $150, $200 gun. ... He was 16 years old. He had a blue rag on, signifying a gang affiliation. Here was a gun you wouldn't think a 16-year old would have access to, but he does, Stodola said. "If I wanted a gun and I had $25, $40, $50.1 could have one in 10 minutes depending on how far I am from where they are." the Rev. Hezekiah Stewart. Watershed's executive director, said. "If I was close, less than that. Some steal or borrow a parent's gun. then return it, the parent never knowing it was missing. Gang members and drug dealers have guns available to deal. Crack cocaine addicts are traded drugs for guns bought legally, illegally or through burglaries. Pawnshop break-ins also net a cache of firepower. Gesturing toward a metal trash drum in the Watershed hallway, an l8-year-old said, If you give me enough money, and the time, I could fill that trash can up with .25s and .22s. You go to any housing project." a l7-year-old sitting across from the other said, there will be a drug dealer there who'll have three or four guns he wants to sell you. Dope fiends ... theyll do anything just to get that crack. Asked why a youngster would carry a gun, all four teens sitting in the hallway at Watershed gave the same answer, almost in unison. "Protection. A gun and use of one is also for show and to achieve status within a gang. The more serious the offense, the bigger the step. Stodola said his office has documented 46 gangs in Pulaski County, categorized through such ways as clothing and general characteristics, as well as their propensity to arm themselves. "They love to pose with their guns, Stodola said, lowering his chin and crossing his hands across his chest as if they were pistols. Protection is also the No. 1 response Gruber hears In court for why a juvenile had a gun at school. In the usual situation, the gun would be brought from home, she added, taken without a parents or grandparents knowledge. The adult may have acquired the gun legally and hidden it. Most of the time, however, the juveniles lie about where they got their guns. "Theyll say they found the gun. That they were just walking down the street and they found It behind a bush or found it in a ditch, Gruber said. She didn't remember anyone ever admitting to an illegal gun buy on the street. Many efforts are under way nationally to get guns off the street and out of the hands of young people. When local bail bondsman Bobby Cox followed up on similar efforts across the country for trading guns for money or merchandise, the response was overwhelming. Offering $50 for any working gun turned in Jan. 22, a Saturday afternoon, Cox had to shell out $16,700 for 335 guns 219 of those handguns, some rusty, some polished chrome. At least four later checked had been stolen, but the swap followed a "no-questions" policy. In another gun swap sponsored by Arkansas Children's Hospital, five other corporations and seven police departments, police officers will collect guns Feb. 5 at War Memorial Stadium in exchange for gift certificates from Harvest Foods, another sponsor. An Arkansas Department of Education survey of almost 3,400 state high school students from the 1992-93 school year reported that 15 percent said they had taken a gun onto school property in the preceding 30 days. In Its 1993 session, the Arkansas Legislature passed the state Safe Schools Act. It included enhanced criminal penalties for handgun possession on school grounds or a school bus. Also, the Arkansas Criminal Gang Organization and Enterprise Act became law. That created several new crime distinctions, including drive-by shootings, based on gang affiliation. Among other effects, the acts made a second-offense handgun possession by a minor a felony. The added teeth also give prosecutors added discretion to look at background and possible gang ties in order to prosecuteV ^fiK, UP, UP AND fiiVlAX Casey Pieretti jumps over barrels Thursday morning during a news conference for Prom Arkansas Oemocrat-Gazane/Morris Richardson II Promise at Hall High School. Pieretti, who lost a leg to a drunken driver, is a speaker for the national program. .FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1994 Prom Promise elicits teen pledges to stay off drugs and alcohol BY SHAREESE HAROLD usoamongjunior and senior Democrat-Gazette Staff Writer Erin Calvin lost a friend who died after inhaling fumes from an aerosol carpet cleaner last year. This year, the Hall High School senior has intensified her commitment to persuade her friends and anyone else wholl listen to stay clean of drugs and alcohol, especially during prom season. We have so many students high school students has increased or remained undrinking and doing drugs here its a shame, Calvin scaaiidd Thursday at a statewide high school pep rally inaugurating Arkansas second annual Prom Promise. ' Prom Promise is a peer-pres-stire pledge campaign geared to sway teen-agers from using drugs and alcohol during prom season. It is sponsored nationally by Nationwide Insurance Co. Local sponsors include KARK-TV, Channel 4, and radio station KIPR-FM, 92, both of Little Rock. About 100 students from 29 Arkansas high schools acknowledged the programs mission Thursday and agreed to solicit signatures from fellow students committing to spend prom night substance-free. Last year, more than 3 million students in 22 states participated in Prom Promise. In Arkansas, more than half the students from 13 high schools signed pledge forms. A University of Michigan study released earlier this week shows more teen-agers are using drugs and alcohol after a decade of decline. Prom Promise planners released figures showing: 35 percent of high school seniors questioned nationwide admitted having five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks. Alcohol is the countrys primary drug problem among teen-agers. : Led by increases in marijuana and hallucinogens, drug changed over the past year. Although Prom Promise has been taking place nationwide^ for five years, last year was the, first time Hall High School and Little Rock area students took part. Calvin said shes unsure whether this just say no pledge helps alter certain students behavior. Such programs dont stop teen-agers from drinking on weekends or after school each day at area parks or at friends houses, she said. We have people here smoking marijuana in the bathrooms and coming to school drunk every day, said Calvin, a member of Halls TRIBE, a 52-stu-dent anti-drug and alcohol peer counseling group. That kind of stuff isn't reported, but I think if this type of program changes one persons mind about drinking and taking drugs, its working to help save a life. I heard of those pledge forms going around. said Adrian Williams, a 19-year-old Central High School senior. But by the time prom comes around, nobody even thinks about that. Williams said he drinks on weekends mostly and has his older friends buy alcohol for him. From the time he started high school, he said, he's noticed more students drinking. He hasn't seen anyone drinking in school bathrooms so far this year but suspects students still smuggle alcohol to school. Students from 10 schools in northeastern Arkansas counties signed Prom Promise pledge forms in 1992, and state statistics show a decline in the number of 15-to-19-year-olds killed in alcohol-related crashes between 1991 and 1992. During prom season 1991,11 teen-agers died
in 1992, two died. Democrat , . . TUESDAY, MARCH 1, ^94 Copynght owe Rock Newspapers. Inc. Police resource officers to serve 13 LR schools Each of the Little Rock School Districts 13 junior and senior high schools should have a police resource officer on campus when schools open for the 1994- 95 school year, Little Rock City Manager Charles Nickerson said Monday. Five of the schools have officers this year as part of a program financed jointly by the school district and the city. The officers serve as speakers in different classes and work to build good relations between students and police. The update on resource officers was one of several brief status reports that members of the Little Rock School Board and the city Board of Directors exchanged Monday. The two boards have met at least four times in recent months to discuss mutual concerns about safety, community use of school buildings and vacant school property. Little Rock police have cooperated with the district not only by participating in the resource officer program, but also by picking up and delivering apparent truants to the districts new truancy center and by serving on the districts Safety and Security Task Force, School board members agreed Monday to explore the possibility of opening some, schools in the summers and after regular school hours for community groups to use.^^Jkansas Democrat :^(gazcttc MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1994 Copyngnt UWe Rock Newspapera. Inc. Traffic injuries to children soar Weve seen some really demolished kids, hospital doctor says i 1 I I BY JIM KORDSMEIER Democrat-Gazette Police Reporter An unusually large number of children were involved in auto- related injuries in Little Rock last week, and educators and physicians are upset because they say the incidents were all preventable. Weve seen some really demolished kids, said Michele Moss, a staff pediatrics physician with the Intensive Care Unit of Arkansas Childrens Hospital in Little Rock. Childrens Hospital alone has treated 13 children for auto-traffic injuries and eight for autopedestrian injuries since March 29. Two children from Little Rock suffered massive injuries last week and one didnt survive. A car hit Michael Broadway, 7, on Base Line Road about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. Michael, who was with a group of children waiting for a school bus, died Wednesday night at Childrens Hospital. Kevin Hunt, 9, was hit by a car Thursday morning while crossing Chicot Road in front of Chicot Elementary School. Kevin was taken to Childrens Hospital, where a hospital spokesman said he remained in critical condition Sunday. Two other children were injured in accidents on Markham Street near Brady Elementary, but their injuries were not lifethreatening. Last week. Moss treated the four children from Little Rock as well as children from Pine Bluff and Bentonville who were involved in auto-related accidents. She said parents need to be reminded how important it is to instruct their children on the dangers of playing or walking near streets and roads. We all learned to stop, look and listen when we were children, Moss said. Schools and parents share a responsibility to teach children simple safety rules. Moss said. For early risers, crowds of children huddled in groups waiting for the school bus are a familiar winter morning scene. But winter has ended and those crowds arent so huddled anymore. Moss and many of her associates at Children's Hospital blame spring temperatures and a disregard for safety for the increased number of accidents. We all blame it on warmer weather. ... Those kids have a lot of energy stored up. Their bodies can move faster than their minds can think, Moss said. Schools have always provided programs to educate children of the dangers of playing near traffic, Moss said. She said adults also need to remember to slow down when driving in school zones or residential areas where children play. We cant prevent all kids from getting hurt, but if we slow down, the damage decreases, Moss said. Moss said there are three types of accidents hospital physicians regularly see. The first involves children being hit by cars as they walk to and from school. Sidewalks and crossing guards serve as some protection for children in many neighborhoods but not all. The second type of accident involves vehicles hitting children who are riding bicycles, often to and from school. Moss said children on bicycles should always wear a helmet. The third type of accident involves children caught inside vehicles during a wreck. Injuries to children in auto accidents can be lessened if adults use proper safety restraints. Moss said. Babies and toddlers in laps become missiles in a wreck. ... They end up hitting everything inside the car. ,.. Its amazing the effect safety restraints have, Moss said. Glen Efird, health coordinator for the Little Rock Public School District, said the number of accidents involving school-age children last week has distressed the administration. Weve been discussing what we need to do and what we need to say to the kids, Efird said. Were trying to find out what it is about our instruction that theyre not hearing.ArkansasDei TOocrat '.^R' (Gazette TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1994 Gun-free school zones gomg to be with^us, lawyer predicts^ BY ADAM BIEGEL Democrat-Gazette staff writer Despite legal and political debates in Washington over the constitutionality of federal gun-free school, zones, Arkansas prosecutors and.educators hope to use the zones U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in December, was surprised at the absent reference. as a weapon against violent crime. I think it does a great deal, Pine Bluff School Su- perintendent Willis Alderson said. Pine Bluff is one of at least 56 Arkansas school districts that promote the zones. It is a clear and visible message to the students and a reminder to the community, he said. Since October 1992, at least five Arkansans have been convicted of violating the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. The act provides five- year jail terms for people convicted of carrying a gun within 1,000 feet of school property. The Supreme Court announced Monday it will consider whether the statute omitted necessary references to Congress regulation of interstate commerce. Little Rock lawyer Michael Booker, who unsuccessfully challenged a separate provision of the law before the Sth I thought, Surely it musfc be in here, Booker said? if But (Congress) just failed to. do it This isnt something*' real esoteric.. Its something they know. *7**>4. With Congress considerii^- a corrected version, I think: this statute is going to be with ' us, Assistant U.S, Attorney ' Michael Johnson said. These kinds of cases are national* ^ priorities right now. r The bulk of the problem though is not with adults, iVs with kids bringing weapons to schools, Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Stodola said. And generally speaking, the federal-IawF does not deal with people who are considered juve- niles. Johnson said federal juve^ nile prosecutions are rare because incidents must involve violent crimes and certification the state failed to reform the individual. Federal prosecutions oiSm are preferable for adults because of tougher sentencing guidelines, he said. Because there is no parole, they serve realtime. Arkansas Democrat (gazette . TUESDAY, APRIL 19,1994 Ban on guns near schools reconsidered The Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court stepped into the national debate over gun control Monday, saying it will consider reviving a federal ban on possession of guns within 1,000 feet of any school. The justices agreed to decide whether a federal appeals court erred when it essentially threw out the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act as unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the Sth Circuit Court, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, struck down the federal statute as an unconstitutional infringement on powers reserved to states by the 10th Amendment. When Congress wishes to stretch its commerce powers so far as to intrude on state prerogatives, it must express its intent to do so in perfectly clear fashion, Judge William Garwood said in the ruling, which was joined by appellate judges Thomas Reavley and Carolyn King. The Clinton administration is asking the high court to reinstate both the law and the conviction of a former San Antonio, Texas, high school student who admitted he took a gun to school in March 1992. Alfonso Lopez Jr. told authorities she was to be paid $40 for delivering the gun to someone else to use in a gang war. Dennis Henigan of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence At a glance The Associated Press WASHINGTON The court Monday
Said it would consider reviving a federal ban on possession of guns within 1,000 feet of any school after it was thrown out by a federal appeals court as unconstitutional. Said it will consider reinstating a ban on federal employees accepting pay for any outside speeches and articles. Lower courts said the ban violated executive branch employees free- speech rights. Left intact a ruling that said a Michigan teacher had legitimate educational reasons for refusing to let a girl show classmates a videotape of her singing a religious song. Agreed to decide in a California case whether statements made by defendants during failed plea negotiations with federal prosecutors may be used as trial evidence against them. expressed hope Monday the court will reinstate the law. Gun violence at schools has become a national problem, Henigan said, adding that the 1990 law was a sensible public safety measure. More than 200,000 children carry firearms to school every day, according to Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., sponsor of the invalidated law. But Larry Pratt of the Gun Owners of America said the lower court was correct in throwing out the law. The gun-control case asks whether Congress wrote the 1990 law correctly to comply with the Constitutions Commerce Clause, which allows Congress to regulate interstate commerce. The law carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for anyone caught with a gun near a school. Lopezs conduct already was banned by other state and federal laws, Pratt said, adding, Once again, we are reminded that America does not need more gun laws. Lopez, then a senior at Edison High School, was arrested after school authorities received an anonymous tip. He admitted carrying a .38- caliber handgun and five bullets, and was sentenced to six months in prison. But the Sth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that in most
cases the law was invalid under the Commerce Clause. Other federal gun control laws describe a link between the banned activity and interstate commerce, but the Gun-Free School Zones Act does not, the appeals court said. Because Lopezs indictment also did not describe such a connection, his conviction must be thrown out, the appeals court ruled. The Sth Circuit court suggested that Congress could enact a new law that might pass constitutional muster if it specified a link between guns at school and commerce.MU* r ' Arkansas Demtxrat SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1994 Copyright Little Rock Newspapers. Inc. LRSD task force urges more guards, alternative clasps ---------------------..r Bv- nroBrams. ............ dations calls for anti-violence and conflict-resolution training to extend to the school faculty, bus drivers and parents, as well as to the students. The recommendations also call for expanding the alternative education program beyond the one junior high alternative school that serves 75 to 100 students. There are no alternative programs available for elementary or senior higu students who do not function well in the traditional class- by CYNTHIA HOWELL Demoerat-GazeHo Education Writer The Little Rock School District could strengthen safety and security on its campuses with more alternative-education classes for disruptive students, more police and security guards, and training in violence prevention. Those suggestions are among 16 broad recommendations sent to district Superintendent Henry Williams and the Little Rock School Board this week by a districtwide Safety and Security Task Force. Williams appointed llie task force in December 1993 in response to security concerns raised by parents and staff at a series of public hearings. The task force did not try to determine the costs. T Kevin OMalley, a school board member and a member of the task force, said the group realized that there were costs associated with the proposals and that decisions about spending money on the dations have to be made by the school board. The recommendations oi the task force repeat or expand on many of the proposals made by a similar group in 1989. The earlier committee s work led to a school security department, a dramatic increase in the number of security guards at the secondary schools, strengthened school rules and an improved communications system by way of repairing school intercoms and providing staff members with two-way radios. Both sets of recommendations stressed the need for leaching violence-prevention nrograms. Bill Barnhouse, the district s director of safety and security who worked with both committees, said the district has some anti-violence programs, but they are not standardized throughout the district. Were in the teaching profession and we should be teaching this thing in pre-kinder- garten through 12th grades. Barnhouse said. Successful programs exist elsewhere in the country and could be adopted by the Little Rock district. he said. room.Aikansas Demcxiat (gazette THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 199^ THUKbU#^ NepapOT. Inc. ___e I htie LRSD security feel ignored, talk of protest district finished negotiating t^ contracts of the districts 300 BY JIM KORDSMEIER OemocratXSazette Polica Reporter Security officers for the Little Rock School District could vote to waia. uuL VL ------ ---------- Johnson said the security beginning today because district officers would get together this officials have yet to schedule a morning and, see how everybody walk out of training sessions date to negotiate a new contract The districts security officers are scheduled to meet today and Frank Martin, executive ---------------- director of the Classroom Friday at Parkview Magnet Arts -peachers Association, said he " wasnt sure what the 36 security a
High School for training sessions. Benny Johnson, selfappointed spokesman for school ! district security officers, said he wasnt sure what would happen this morning. A lot of guys said they want to walk out, Johnson said. A lot of VO'S i. protest. Some say they want to protest at the administration building, and thats what I would like to do. feels about it officers plan to do. I dont know that they are planning anything, but they are at the bottom of the totem pole. Theyve been hung out there a long time, Martin said. The Little Rock School Board custodians last week. Martin said he was supposed to talk with the districts director of labor relations, Brady Gadberry, to schedule a meeting to discuss security officer contracts before the 1994 school year starts. Classes begin Monday. Bobby Jones, director of school district security, said he was unaware of any pending protest I dont know anything about anybody being upset, Jones said. Johnson said school district security officers are concerned about the security department promotions system, a lack of pay for overtime work and the fact that their contracts have not been ai We want to show some form ofArkansas Democrat ^(j^azette FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 1994 LRSD guards lack contract but dont skip school Security officers for the Little Rock School District decided Thursday morning not to walk out of a two-day training session at Parkview Magnet Arts High School. Thursdays training session was the first contract day of the 1994 school year for security officers. The districts 40 full-time and 10 part-time security officers are upset because school district officials have yet to negotiate a new contract with the officers representatives. Some threatened to walk out of the training session or protest at district offices. Bobby Jones, director of school district security, said the districts director of labor relations, Brady Gadberry, has been sick and hadnt yet scheduled a meeting with the security officers representatives to negotiate their contracts. Jones said Gadberry planned to meet with security officers today. A school district spokesman said contract negotiations with the security officers would begin Tuesday, a day after classes start. The Little Rock School Board voted in January to recognize union status for school district securily officers. Frank Martin, executive director of the Classroom Teachers Association, said the district finished negotiating the contracts of the districts 300 custodians Monday. Security officers are the last group of district employees without a negotiated contract for the 1994-95 school year, Martin said. if I I I I i I I Arkansas Democrat ^(i^azcUcJ S MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 1994 CATMiirtjtC I.W1* Newaoaoers. Inc. caomUbwc l.rtrte Rock | School security: fr -.L.vt. From hickory st i ckz ^. to ducking bullets BY JIM KORDSMEIER Democrat-Gazette PoHce Reporter j Ask most adults to describe ' their first days of school and I the memories most likely will ' be similar new clothes and I pencils, the first football game, ' the sanitary smell of clean rooms and waxed hallways. I Ask a student in the Little ' Rock School District the same question and the memories ' -t't - .-IM* .w^ .ris: 44 suspensions or expulsions, for fighting. At Hall High School, 36 students were disciplined for fighting and II students were suspended or expelled for drug-related incidents. There are 40 full-time security officers and 10 part-time officers in the- Little Rock. School District ' They are, charged with protecting 13 sec-
might be altogether different ondary school campuses. locker searches, fights, ran- .25,000 secondary school dom metal detector sweeps, dents. They are supplemented^ guns, the navy blue shirts of se- resource officers, providi^,
. curity guards. ed by the Little
l^ck Poli<T Gone are the days when Department. "reading, riting and 'rith- Bennie Johnson, an outspo<- ? metic were "taught to the . ken security guard starting hi^- tune of a hickory stick. In the
eighth year at Central HighZ Little Rock School District, said school ^ards have seen S" 1' school can be a dangerous little bit of everything. place. . < ' Tve been 'through notsj^ L- In the 1993-94 school year, shootings, stabbing i and as-r dom metal detector sweeps, curily guards.
, Central High School recorded Security Continued from Page 1B saults on teachers, Johnson said. Last year there were 60 guys fighting at a basketball game. We put our lives on the line at football games. Last year we were ducking bullets. Our job is real, real hard. The kids are constantly fight- ing, Johnson said. But Im here for the kids, about I care them and we get to know them real well. I see them screwing up and I try to help, but the only thing See SEt^Rtpr, Page 38
there were 61 suspensions or expulsions. Emphasis on security and additional measures such as random metal detector sweeps and an increased guard presence may have something to do with that improvement, Jones said. To keep guards up to speed, the district security department schedules a two-day training session at the beginning of each Students wearing gang clothes (such as red bandannas or T- shirts with gang slogans) are to be sent home and can return when they change clothes. Poole said. Patience, 4 1 professionalism i and prayer are the qualities that 1 school year. LRSD expulsions _______Fighting Assault Battery Drugs Guards review new district policies with Central J.A. Fair Hall Parkview 44 23 36 24 McClellan* 40 Total 167 3 3 7 1 4 18 15 7 6 1 6 35 19 6 11 0 8 44 veteran and rookie officers. Most of the districts Includes Metropolitan Vo-Tech Education Center thats going to make schools safe is zero tolerance, just like the police are doing. Bobby Jones, interim director of district security, is confident his security guards are making a difference on the districts five senior high and eight junior high campuses. Jones said he spent 24 years with the Little Rock Police De- Arkansas Oemocraf-QazeMe partment before joining the district. People usually only hear the bad things, the violent incidents
they dont hear about all the work t
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