At the September 20, 2023 APS School Board Meeting a policy was passed regarding “Threats of Death or Great Bodily Injury by Students.” This was in response to the multiple incidents involving weapons at Chaparral and Holloman Schools. These egregious acts involved weapons and threats against teachers and students. To further the outrage and fears, parents were not notified appropriately and the actions taken by APS were hidden based on confidentiality according to them. No concerned parent was interested in the identity of the students involved. They wanted to know how it was handled – the procedure. If the Alamogordo Public Schools have policies and procedures on incidents like the above then it would be no problem to state the procedure and confirm the policies were followed. This created more concern because it appeared the student perpetrators were protected and teachers and students were not. What did they do to handle it? What was the policy?
It is a dereliction of duty not to review and update this policy immediately after a major incident. At least they were concerned whether the policy itself had “teeth” but the immediate and emergency procedures to handle the potentially dangerous situation go unaddressed except for the fear of APS possibly being sued. They could be sued for bundles of money if something happened while they investigated instead of removing the threat. They do not want to be accused of acting rashly. Well, if a student(s) has threatened to kill teachers and students, that is due cause to act quickly. Same with possession of a weapon. This is not well thought out and should be a major concern to all since it is not protective but only punitive. Protection MUST come first.
In critical situations, there is no time to meet and determine what should be done. At the time of the Holloman incident, there was information released stating Pam Renteria and Roman Renteria went to HAFB to help with the problem. At the time Roman Renteria was filling in as Principal at Chaparral Middle School after the previous principal had been removed for their weapon incident. Why did Roman Renteria have to leave his post to help Pam Renteria address the problem? The threat was not removed. It appears they do not want to hurt a student’s feelings by making it obvious who the perpetrator(s) were. Protection MUST come first.
That night at the School Board meeting, at the 42:55 minute mark, they were going to vote on passing the new policy to set up policies and procedures for taking care of problems like this albeit 9 months later. Before the vote was taken President Judy Rabon asked for discussion. Member Cadwallader said she had just received the Agenda with the policy around 7:30p the night before and did not have adequate time to get input from her constituents. First, the agenda is supposed to be sent out at least 3 days prior to the scheduled meeting. That obviously did not happen. Acting Superintendent Renteria stated she just met the night before with the Administrative Council for input. It was also mentioned the School Board held a Working Meeting and “discussed” what was needed for the policy but was not finalized for voting. Vice President Ross said she had wanted to vote on it in July. President Rabon put the policy up for a vote anyway and it passed with one negative vote by Member Cadwallader. It was stated the policy could be amended and voted on again later. The policy was to be published on the APS website.
Once again, what is the School Board doing? There is this extended period of time without addressing a most critical and dangerous situation and the procedure needed to take immediate action. What does the policy say? Why was Mrs Rabon negligent in quickly addressing and instituting effective measures that were both protective of students and teachers and not just punitive? This was a matter of THREATS OF DEATH OR GREAT BODILY INJURY BY STUDENTS as denoted by the policy name itself.
This is the policy: Click here for the policy on the APS website.
These are the questionable actions found in paragraphs 4-6 as shown here:
“Any student or staff member who becomes aware of a threat must immediately report it to a teacher, school administrator, counselor, or any other responsible adult.”
“Upon receiving a report of a threat, the school administration will conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to determine the validity of the threat. The investigation may involve interviews, collection of evidence, and consultation with appropriate authorities if necessary.”
“If a student is found to have made a direct threat of death or great bodily injury toward another student or staff member, the following consequences will be implemented:” (See consequences listed above by grade).
When 911 is called for an emergency do they get together and discuss it or do they know exactly what steps to take because it has been predetermined with simple, effective delineated procedures? Not so here.
Removing the threat is the most important thing until the investigation is completed. That was the concern in the above incidents. Anything can happen while waiting for an investigation. Students involved have Chromebooks and can do school at home. It’s kind of like standing in line at the airport with signs warning about even joking about a bomb. That alone will get the person in big trouble. The focus should be on removing the threat and protecting all teachers and students. Waiting for an investigation before removing the threat is irresponsible. Sounds so nice but could be tragic and deadly.
Also, what are the procedures for searching students, backpacks, and other personal belongings after the administration is notified? This is also of concern. If there is the possibility of a weapon, shouldn’t there be some means to separate the student from their belongings and search according to law? This minor mistake could lead to deadly consequences. Remember recently the 6-year-old who had a gun in his pocket that was not searched and then shot his teacher? They did search his backpack but not his person. BANG!
This is a non-joking matter and should be dealt with as such. The consequences are good but it’s the gap of time from receiving the information to the end of the investigation that needs to be handled differently and with all seriousness.
The fact that the School Board did not examine this policy immediately should cause much concern to the public. Nine months to pass this policy is malpractice and negligence. Makes you wonder how long the investigation would take before any action is taken. This is another FAILURE by the School Board and Superintendent by not addressing priorities.
Make your voices heard. This does not leave room for much confidence in APS handling such a serious matter. It is an undefined procedure that could end up with deadly consequences. Wake up Alamogordo Public Schools and School Board. NOT ACCEPTABLE!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL! This Is The Current Environment! Parents Need To Know These Dangerous Incidents Will Be Handled Immediately With The Sole Focus Of Protection Of All Other Students And Teachers – NOT THE PERPETRATOR.
