Second-graders expelled when plot uncovered

Three students in Mattawa planned 'serious harm' on fellow student; Wahluke superintendent silent on story

MATTAWA — Questions remain after a plot by three second-graders to cause "serious harm" to a classmate was uncovered at an elementary school.

The three second-graders, whose age or gender were not revealed, have been expelled from the school, and the police have been contacted, according to a letter to the community from the Wahluke Schools Superintendent William L. Miller.

"The threat showed planning," the letter dated March 4 read. "We discovered this problem because one child did the right thing," it continued, not going into further detail.

Miller said that the situation was discovered on Thursday, March 3 and that the expulsion is final.

"People can always make an appeal and have (the expulsion) rescinded," he said. "It could be evaluated, rejected or accepted based on the circumstances."

Mattawa Chief of Police Randy Blackburn disagreed with Miller's assessment of when the situation occurred.

"It's been at least two weeks since this thing was discovered," Blackburn said.

Blackburn confirmed that a student's life had been threatened during the incident. "That's what it's all about, yes," he said.

Blackburn was unwilling to release further details as the children involved are under the age of culpability. A report has not yet been filed, according to Blackburn, who says he is waiting on statements from school officials.

"I'm hoping to get the statements this week," Blackburn said.

Miller declined to answer whether he had faced similar situations at the school district before, limiting himself to say he had never seen such a problem with children of such a young age.

"I have told you everything I am going to tell you,” he said in a Tuesday interview.

The letter calls on parents to increase supervision and monitoring at home, increase care to the children and decrease the level of conflict at home and the community. Furthermore, it advised parents to tell children that the only way to fight back aggression from other children is to report it to a teacher, parent, counselor or principal.

"Ignorance about how to appropriately handle issues leads to acts that are very destructive to everyone involved," the letter read. "We will not empower this one problem to change the upward progress of our schools."