JACKSON BOARD VIEWS POLICY ON WEAPONS

JACKSON -- The Jackson school board got its first look at the district's policy and procedure guidelines for dealing with dangerous weapons in the schoolroom Tuesday.

The board also heard a report on the status of a proposed girl's varsity soccer team and got an update on the bidding process for the new middle school.

Superintendent Wayne Maupin said the emphasis of the "Dangerous Weapons at School" operations plan is on techniques of prevention by the school district and parents.

"The ultimate purpose of this paper is to elevate the awareness level of students, staff, and parents. Measures must be taken to insure a safe environment for students and staff," said Maupin. "This can be done through pre-school workshops and faculty and staff meetings. Parental involvement and support will be encouraged through newsletters, news releases and PTO meetings. Opportunities to educate students of the seriousness of weapons in the classroom may consist of classroom instruction, student discipline codes and school assemblies."

Maupin said there are three components to the operations plan, including prevention, crisis intervention/response plan, and post crisis considerations.

The crisis/intervention response portion of the plan includes guidelines for teachers and staff who are confronted with a weapon in the classroom or on the school property.

The third phase of the plan includes a communications chain of command through which all facts are submitted, with an emphasis on a written summary of the incident. The guidelines also deal with contacting school officials, parents, civil authorities, and the news media with factual information.

"Everyone will have a part to play in this plan, including parents," said Maupin. "We have to anticipate this happening in the school house and be prepared to deal with it."

Two incidents have occurred involving students who have brought guns to school in Jackson. The latest occurred Friday night at the R.O. Hawkins Junior High School, when a student displayed an unloaded firearm. A similar incident occurred last year at one of the elementary schools in Jackson.

Maupin said advertisements for bids for the $4.7 million Jackson Middle School project will go out today. "There's a lot of interest among local and region-wide contractors," he reported.

Maupin said a pre-bid conference for contractors bidding on the school building will begin at 4 p.m., Dec. 2, in the high school cafeteria.

Bids for the middle school will be opened on Dec. 9, at 4 p.m., in the high school cafeteria. The school board is expected to act on the low bid at its Dec. 14 board meeting.

All site work for the new school, which will be located at the corner of Broad Ridge and West Independence, has been completed.

A feasibility report on a varsity girl's soccer team was received by the board from high school principal, Vernon Huck, and Kent Gibbs, athletic director. Huck said local schools and those in the St. Louis area, and in Illinois, were contacted. According to Huck, none of the schools indicated any interest in a girl's soccer program at this time.

Maupin said at a recent superintendents meeting he talked with superintendents from the Missouri Bootheel north to Jefferson County, and none indicated any interest in a girl's soccer program.

"Our recommendation is not to begin this sport until other schools are willing to do the same. If the interest remains as it is this year, then we will look into the possibility of starting this sport each year," said Huck.

However, board member Jack T. Knowlan Jr. disputed Huck's statement that no other schools were interested. Knowlan said he contacted at least eight schools, including Cahokia and Carbondale, Ill., and Cape Notre Dame, who had expressed interest in the program.

Said Knowlan: "We do not have support for the program within the administration. Somebody has to take the lead. We can't sit back and wait for someone else to do it. We need a plan for a positive approach to this issue. It could be a cooperative effort between Jackson, Cape Central and Notre Dame."

Huck said he is not opposed to a girl's soccer program, but noted it would require a lot of travel to play other out-of-town teams.

Dr. T. Wayne Lewis noted the girl's soccer team is one of a number of board goals, and suggested that it be included in the board's January retreat agenda.

Board member Larry Koenig agreed. "We need to make a decision as a board on where we want to go with this," said Koenig.

Board President Darrell Hanschen said the girl's soccer issue was the last to be added to the list of board goals, and reminded the board there are critical academic and facility goals that must also be met as soon as possible.