Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 5, 1992 TAG: 9202050345
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BOARD CHIDED BY TOTA
When a Patrick Henry High student brought a gun to school last week, a few Roanoke School Board members spoke out about the incident and the problem of students with guns.That was inappropriate, according to a memo Superintendent Frank Tota wrote to School Board members.
In the memo, Tota instructed that in such cases, board members should refer questions - from the public or media - to his administration and should "express confidence in the administration's being able to handle the situation." Finally, Tota wrote, the members should indicate that "no further details are available."
Board member Wendy O'Neil challenged Tota's approach, saying that the problem needs to be discussed publicly and openly, "before any student is injured on any campus."
"Refusing to squarely face it . . . is not going to make it go away," O'Neil said Tuesday. "I don't want us to be in a situation where we are regretting that we did not take action earlier."
O'Neil said that for the board to deal with the problem, Tota's administration must improve its system of documenting gun incidents in schools. It also needs to keep board members better informed when such incidents occur.
O'Neil said she learned through the newspaper - not from Tota's office, as she felt she should have - about the Patrick Henry incident.
Board member James Turner said Tota's memo was meant to offer guidance to board members in dealing with the media on serious issues. He doesn't think Tota's office is "trying to shield the board from everything."
Turner said he trusts Tota's judgment in determining which incidents are serious enough for board members to be notified.
"If there are problems, I think he's got a good grasp of it," he said of Tota.
Tota said he doesn't deny there is a problem with young people gaining access to guns. But with a case like the one at Patrick Henry, the administration and the School Board are in the "awkward position" of protecting an individual student's rights and protecting the safety of all students.
That student was arrested and his future at Patrick Henry is being determined by a disciplinary review committee, which will recommend any action to the School Board.
So, Tota said, the board must be cautious when speaking publicly about such an incident.
"We are very public with our information. But before we can go public, we have to know what the facts are," he said. "Until we can get all the information together, it's premature to jump to conclusions."
Tota suggested in the Jan. 31 memo that board members not publicly discuss serious incidents - such as students with weapons - until an incident can be fully investigated.
Tota said his memo was merely clarifying the current procedure but that he is willing to change that procedure if the board wishes. But he said the place to do that is at a board meeting, and not through newspaper articles.
He called it "strange" that most of the recent discussions about guns in schools have taken place through the media and not at School Board meetings.
Board members "should bring that up at a public meeting," Tota said.