Comment: Are Our Public Schools Safe?

The issue of school safety is fraught with natural fear for children and staff and with the difficulty of separating rumor from fact. The comments posted on our Jan. 1 article, "," reflected a range of views and experiences, as well as strong disagreement, from several readers who contributed heartfelt thoughts about the subject. To provide an indication of that range and avoid the appearance of taking sides on this volatile issue, we've chosen two comments this time for our Comment of the Week:

From Sharon Johnson:

(Quoting another comment:) "One thing that draws many people to independent schools is the expectation and enforcement of proper behavior...middle-school girl raped in stairwell.. I haven't seen these headlines about private schools...it was highly inappropriate on-campus school-time activity the nature of which no decent parent would condone at their child's school."

For the record, the boy accused of assault spent 4 months in jail awaiting trial and the DA quietly dropped the charges later because there was no evidence of an assault.

And we parents hardly "condoned" the incident and most of us are "decent" and compassionate people. In fact, the parent community stepped up to provide additional supervision before, during, and after school; and the school district hired additional staff to be in the hallways directly after the incident.

Ditto for the "teacher stoned" story. A teacher was hurt at lunch but none of the witness reports mentioned "stoning". she returned to the school and runs one of the most popular programs on campus. The kids responsible were punished.

As a direct result of that incident, the PTA raised funds to implement a supervised lunchtime activities program and the district hired additional safety staff

In a way, these 2 incidents were the catalyst for significant improvements. The kids at Portola are not perfect angels but this is a MUCH safer campus now and the parent community is and always has been very proactive and supportive of the school.

From G.C.:

In my case, the attacker was not arrested because witnesses would not come forward. Instead, the student was eventually transferred to another school within the district for other issues.

He eventually killed a 16 year old and a young adult in a JC parking lot and seriously injured another. When I said we had a problem with this individual, no one acted. One teacher said "He's a nice boy, you just need to understand him." The dean was unable to do much without witnesses. I now realize I had provided the dean with enough information to launch an investigation, but he never did.

I reported that another student needed attention and was told "you can't save them all." This student then showed up to school with a loaded gun. The paperwork I submitted requesting this student be evaluated was lost by school staff.

Later, at this same campus, a student was brutally raped at a dance.

I would like to know what progress the WCCUSD has made in providing a safe environment for our children since these incidents.

• Editor's note: The "Comment of the Week" doesn't necessarily reflect the view of El Cerrito Patch. It's chosen according to what we believe will be of general reader interest. For other examples from our "Comment of the Week" series, please click .