Moses Lake schools improve student security

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake School District is taking steps to improve student safety, following reports of student harassment.

Tracy Dayett claimed at a school board meeting Sept. 25 her daughter was assaulted by another student, reportedly dropped on her head and lost consciousness. The student attacker received a 30-day suspension.

Dan Folger said at the meeting his daughter was brought in as a witness to the assault. She experienced daily harassment after being called in, Folger said.

The day of the school board meeting, a student reported to a teacher they were being harassed, said Special Assistant to the Superintendent P.J. De Benedetti. He could not confirm whether it was Folger's daughter who reported the harassment. The teacher reported the claim to administrators. The harassing student received a three-day suspension Sept. 26, De Benedetti said.

District Superintendent Steve Chestnut responded Friday to check on the situation.

The student violated the suspension, returning to campus, and threatening the same student, De Benedetti said.

"The combination of those two factors earned her an emergency expulsion," he said.

According to a Moses Lake Police Department report, when the student returned to campus, she threatened to kill Folger's daughter and family. The student was arrested for harassment, the police department reported.

"Expulsions are, by definition, indefinite," said Chestnut.

Chestnut said parents have the right to appeal a student's expulsion. Long-term suspensions expire at the end of a semester, while expulsions do not expire automatically.

An impartial hearing officer listens to appeals, Chestnut said. Retired administrators typically fill the role.

If a parent is unsatisfied with the decision at the hearing, the parent can appeal to the school board, Chestnut said.

De Benedetti said the student shared a physical education class with the harassed student. The expelled student's schedule was changed, he said.

A second student who assaulted another is still out of school on a 30-day suspension, De Benedetti said. He could not confirm if the assaulted student was Dayett's daughter.

The suspension was upheld on appeal, he said.

"We continue to investigate and see what else might be going on," De Benedetti said.

The district's two school resource officers were asked to focus on the high school last week, De Benedetti said.

A school resource officer who usually divides his time between other schools was still able to respond to problems at the other schools, he said.

"Obviously, we take school safety very seriously because if kids and parents don't feel safe in school, they're not going to be learning," Chestnut said.

One claim made at the school board meeting was that some cameras weren't working.

"Actually, all of the cameras are working, and they've been working since the start of the school year," De Benedetti said.

When a camera stops working, the district has them repaired, he noted. The company who fixes the cameras is in the Tri-Cities, so a delay might take place, but in general the company responds quickly, he added.

From the first day of the school year until Sept. 26, there were 19 fights, De Benedetti said. Twelve of the fights were at Moses Lake High School.

"Only one of those was gang-related, by our estimation," De Benedetti said.

The school district has a list of students affiliated with gangs, he said.

Even if a student affiliated with a gang gets into a fight, the fight itself may not be gang-related, he said.

During lunch, school resource officers, the dean of students, administrators and other staff are walking around, De Benedetti said. Staff focus particularly on the commons and other areas where students congregate, he said.

"A lot of times, it's broken up before it even becomes a fight," De Benedetti said.

He said staff can catch situations between students before they become physical.

Sometimes, a fight happens before staff can intervene, he said. Students might arrange to fight off campus.

One of the most recent fights took place Sept. 26. Two students met in a field off campus. Security staff and a school resource officer learned of the fight.

"They went to the field immediately," he said.

When they arrived, the fight already took place. The students were charged with disorderly contact by police and suspended for 10 days by the school district.

"One of those kids had already been on probation, so he was taken into custody," De Benedetti said.