Family appeals expulsion of Trinity elementary student for having knife
The parents of a fifth-grader expelled for having a penknife at Trinity East Elementary School in November have appealed the disciplinary action to Washington County Court.
An attorney for Azurede and Ronald Jenkins and their son filed the school district’s findings of fact from a Dec. 6 proceeding. A student told the teacher assigned to bus duty a knife fell out of the boy’s backpack and the boy picked it up. The teacher asked the child about the incident and he reached into the backpack and pulled out the knife.
The two went to the principal’s office, but she was not there, so the teacher advised him to tell his parents about the matter before they received a phone call from the principal, Saundra Deems.
The teacher did not believe the child posed a threat, and he permitted the boy to ride the bus home from school. The principal originally meted out a three-day suspension, discussed the situation later that month and added six more days to the suspension.
Five members of the Trinity board of education heard the case: Kerrin McIlvaine, Frances Eates, Thomas Durbin, Frank Golsky and Edmund B. Trapazzano. Although the student had a right to a private hearing, his attorney requested that the hearing be public. The boy admitted he possessed the penknife on school property.
“Each of the district’s staff members who testified on the subject characterized (the boy) as a student with good attendance and good grades, with no prior disciplinary issues, and who is well-liked by staff and students,” according to findings of fact prepared by Barbara Graham, hearing officer. Dr. Michael Crabtree, a psychologist, in a written report noted the boy does not have a conduct disorder and that his return to school did not present any threat.
Trinity Area School District policy and the state Public School Code prohibit students from possessing or bringing weapons into any school building. Graham found that the boy violated these policies, noting that he denied he had the penknife during two inquiries.
Dr. Michael Lucas, Trinity superintendent of schools, recommended that the student be expelled for the remainder of the school year. The penalty could have been expulsion for a year unless the superintendent recommends a lesser sanction.
No hearing date has been scheduled before a judge.