I forgot to add that Scuderi contacted Golde Monday morn and the school administration know that Matt was planning on attending the high school meeting, since he is not only the DA whose job it is to share this type of information with the community, but lives here and has kids in our schools.

Enough shooting the messenger….

how about getting real and serious about true reforms.

Thank you for contributing.
Your comment clearly adds to the discussion.
Your opinion is highly valued.

Setting up special charter schools dedicated to specific interests – which are part of the public school system – is tantamount to abandoning public schools?

How, exactly, is expanding the public school system to allow students to attend schools that focus on special interests they might have *abandoning* the public school system?

Every parent who is forced(by law, they will be truant if they dont attend) to send their kids to schools that are unsafe should sue the district to fund a private school education.

The elephant in the room that nobody will mention for fear of being branded against “diversity” or worse. 1999-2003 saw a large influx of out of illegal out of district students (BUSD’s enrollment was down, they wanted the funding and looked the other way). Those kids are now in high school. So Berkeley residents bust their asses to afford to be able to live in Berkeley, vote for bonds and parcel taxes every chance they get, and basically do everything they can to provide a great environment for their children and it’s stolen and squandered by fraudsters and lazy administrators.

Oops. I meant homogeneous. Bleah.

almost as fast as your trolling

A few points:

1. If this problem is not fixed, the people who can, will vote with their feet and either move or pay for private high schools. There has been a modest return of high achieving kids from the wealthier neighborhoods of Berkeley in the last few years into the public school system. A lot of parents I know who send their kids to private elementary actually choose BHS because of programs that have been implemented to serve kids who are college bound. Having those parents involved means that the school has people with more resources in terms of time and money that can contribute which will enhance everything. The school should do what it can to keep these people.

2. This is a police matter. Since carrying these weapons is illegal – to the best of my knowledge it is illegal for underage students to be carrying weapons, to conceal these weapons and to smuggle them onto school grounds – the matter should be handled by the police. BHS administration should simply clarify that they are turning the matter over to the police who will make the proper recommendations. Whether those are banning gang clothing, setting up a more restricted policy of entering the school and/or metal detectors, should be up to the police not BHS administration.

3. Metal detectors are used widely in airports, courts and other buildings. In fact, every passenger flying in the US has gone through a metal detector for the past decade because 19 guys with box cutters wreaked havoc a in 2001. While no one has been killed at BHS, there have been numerous instances of guns FOUND in the past year. Since the number of guns on campus could be higher than the number of guns found, then the problem could be more severe. Thus, in comparison to the rationale for using metal detectors in airports, it seems more logical to use them at BHS where the number of instances of dangerous weapons is higher.

4. The gun was fired. It seems improbable that the gun went off “by accident”. Triggers don’t often pull themselves. Thus, the most plausible explanation is that someone fired this weapon either to hurt someone or to scare someone. The bullet that was fired went through a wall and could have easily hit someone by accident.
It seems that with multiple guns being smuggled onto campus and now beginning to go off, it is only a matter of time until a child is hurt or killed.

just “keepin’ it real”……..

If you ain’t Gay, huggin’ a tree, or hatin’ this country – how could one possible expect BUSD to listen to you??? You’re not “real”

If “the law” prevents school districts from sending juvenile felons to their own special program, away from BHS, then the law needs to be changed. I and have never seen any part of the Education Code that actually says that a juvenile criminal on probation for a violent felony cannot be permanently reassigned to their own special program. If anyone, including the school board, has an actual citation to a statute or case that requires BUSD to keep dangerous armed felons at BHS I’d sure like to see it. I don’t think there is a judge or jury in California that would second guess the district if they were to send the hardcore group of armed juvenile felons to their own special program to protect the safety and welfare of students and staff. Show me “the law” that requires us to keep these dangerous thugs at Berkeley High and I will fight to change it.

3. Metal detectors are used widely in airports, courts and other buildings. In fact, every passenger flying in the US has gone through a metal detector for the past decade because 19 guys with box cutters wreaked havoc a in 2001.

No, metal detectors were introduced to US airports in the early 1970s after some hijackings. Since 2001, more restrictions were added on what passengers can bring on to a plane. Terrorists responded to that circumstance with a succession of innovation in the types of weapons they used, leading to “sniffers” and full body scanners. Most security experts not speaking for the government agree that it is a fairly straightforward matter for terrorists to bring weapons and explosives on to planes – and that most of these increased measures since 2001 have not contributed to safety. From time to time authorized and unauthorized persons “test” airport security. They generally find little difficulty getting weapons on to planes. (My favorite expert quipped that the only things that have increased airplane security since 2001 is making cockpit doors more secure and teaching passengers to fight back.)

Meanwhile, all of these security measures have cost an enormous amount money, created a false sense of security, and have lowered people’s guard against unjustified and intrusive searchers. At a high school, metal detectors have the additional drawbacks of “making a game of it” and leading to more busts for far more minor offenses. The rather horrifying possibility, to my mind, is that some corrupt folks are going to wind up selling BUSD a security system bill of goods for kickbacks, while naive parents cheer the whole thing on.

While no one has been killed at BHS, there have been numerous instances of guns FOUND in the past year. Since the number of guns on campus could be higher than the number of guns found, then the problem could be more severe. Thus, in comparison to the rationale for using metal detectors in airports, it seems more logical to use them at BHS where the number of instances of dangerous weapons is higher.

The comparison is no good. The physical design of airports and schools are very different. The economics (how to get the most threat reduction per dollar spent) are very different.

4. The gun was fired. It seems improbable that the gun went off “by accident”. Triggers don’t often pull themselves.

Very often, people design or tune hand guns to have “hair triggers” that go off accidentally very easily. That is why you hear stories like a gun going off in class when a kid plops his backpack down on his desk.

Thus, the most plausible explanation is that someone fired this weapon either to hurt someone or to scare someone.

Not at all.

The bullet that was fired went through a wall and could have easily hit someone by accident.

All too true.

Theres a new middle and high school starting. i ink I need to get in there quick if this keeps up. bUSD is clueless kn so many levels.
Google REALM school- started by people who are sick of it. Its charter, and publically funded and BUSD hates it because they are taking money from the bad schools and trying so ething different. But they are really, really mad because BUSD fakes their books and they need as much cash as possible to fund the insane and bankrupt pension system via bonds, taxes and scrimping on services.

Heres a simple rule. Unless you can prove residency with a rental check or tax bill, you don’t get to go here. That will stop the city versus city crap.
BUSD is gaming the subsidy and inviting out of towners to the school to get the bounty money

http://www.realmcharterschool.org/

Looks really interesting!

The law you are interested in encompasses state and federal law and involves court precedents going back more than a century and all the way to the US Supreme Court.

The California Education Code is probably the most directly relevant to your questions. You can find it here:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=edc

For fairly obvious equal protection reasons, students are able to enroll in their district’s school “by right”. To remove this right from a particular student generally requires a temporary suspension or a longer lasting expulsion.

The legislature has, over the years, sought to balance the right of students’ to an education with school safety and with federal requirements. The results are mainly found in section 48900-48927 (chapter 6 Article 1).

The prohibition against automatically expelling kids on the basis of (certain) crimes committed outside of school attendance or activities can be found in 48900(s).

I think it is safe to say that one of the intents of this legislation – an intent that likely can’t be reversed without changing the U.S. Constitution – is to preserve student rights to due process and equal protection under the law. Students who are caught and and convicted of crimes not related to to school are not in the school’s jurisdiction on those matters.

Finally, principals and superintendents can try to expel a student where they think that there is a clear and present danger to school safety. Again, though, that is a juridical process. The student can (and should) have an attorney. The laws I mentioned above raise the bar significantly raise the bar for proving that danger. Such an expulsion can be challenged in an appeals courts. It would be hard to change the policy along the lines you seem to suggest without quickly running afoul of the US Constitution.

Sharkey, I suspect you just misunderstand what the alternative school you are thinking of was doing. What people are calling for here is kicking out every kid on parole or who has ever been convicted of anything. That is unlawful – when it is such a broad sweep. Read the freakin’ code, please, you seem smart enough! Please don’t add more “noise of confusion” to the discussion.

You are wrong, DougM. Your comment makes it sound like BUSD has to assign a personal home teacher to every single student who refuses to wear an ID badge and that is just not true.

The ADA is not directly applicable to the concept of mainstreaming criminals in public schools. If some administrators used such inappropriate analogies, they might not be good critical thinkers and might be working in positions that exceed their intellectual ability. I am sure the school district has access to competently trained legal minds to set them straight. The ADA does not apply to how schools have to treat criminals.

No, I don’t misunderstand. Students who were deemed too dangerous for other schools got sent there. However I think the reason it was legal in this case is that students were generally sent there after causing trouble *on* a school campus and not as a result of what they did *off* campus.

However I have to say that it’s a bit shocking that a hypothetical drug-dealing baby rapist teenager with a garage full of pipe bombs who stabbed a neighbor in the eye with a rusty fork couldn’t be expelled from their school unless they comitted one of those crimes

(1) While on school grounds.
(2) While going to or coming from school.
(3) During the lunch period whether on or off the campus.
(4) During, or while going to or coming from, a school sponsored
activity.

When the administrators hands are so thoroughly tied, it’s no wonder the schools are being over-run with problem students.

REALM?
The REALM charter school of Victor Diaz & McBride/BOCA?

Diaz’ reign at B-Tech was no great shakes–do some research.
And, take a look at their website: they clearly state that seats in their “school” are promised to their board, school employees / volunteers, and BOCA affiliates. If there is any room for more students, they’ll be chosen by lottery.
How does this charter school bypass restrictions re public school funds and religion? Seems like a huge number of the folks backing this school are from the “faith based” community.

I’d rather see BUSD/BHS get it together than have district funds diverted for a charter which seems to cater to a select student body gathered from a select community.. and a few, select “lucky” others.

In regards to REALM’s computer game based curriculum: if I wanted my kids to play video games all day, I’d drop them at Eudomonia.

Berkeley has its fair share of criminals and lamers but the BUSD is notorious for letting in students of out of resident families on some very SLIM identification. Old rental agreements, families with similar names. There’s a whole section on how to game it at the BPN:
http://parents.berkeley.edu/recommend/schools/BHS/outofdistrict.html
But, of course its not the true problem. It just adds to population issues and crowding and resource stress. The City has not grown much at all-total population is down from it’s heights from decades ago. So, school growth is not proportionate to census reports.
Even if they are good students, its 100% not fair to degrade the taxpayer’s resource and overburden the system to make up for budget holes. That money could be used for security, wellness, good counselors, events and so forth. Berkeley High School is too big and the BUSD cannot run this small city with city problems

What makes you say that Oakland Tech is worse? If all else fails, just point to Oakland? I think you are wrong. Oakland Tech has been written up as the “it” school and has undergone a lot of change. There are bad apples there, no doubt, but it is news to me that it is worse than what I read in this article.

Who is hating on REALM and why?

From what I’ve read, it sounds great.
Charter schools do a much better job of educating students with unique interests who actually want to learn than the industrialized model of school that BHS represents.

The Berkeley Police Department has a Community Crime View website (http://www.cityofberkeley.info/cvc) that allows one to track crimes that were reported within the last 180 days. Any crime reports seen by a deputy D.A. should be reflected in the statistics on this site. If the information from the Berkeley Police Dept is accurate, Mr. Golde may have overstated his case.