[12] March 1, 2013
www.federalwaymirror.com the district reports. The student was taken [ SCHOOLS from page 1]
FWHS student brings unloaded gun to school
into police custody and has been expelled. The student’s name and the type of weapon have not been disclosed. “The situation was resolved with little to no impact on the school day for the rest of the students,” Griebel wrote. Griebel urged parents to watch for signs of alcohol abuse in their children. The school’s security has noticed a trend since the passage of a state law that allowed grocery stores to sell alcohol, she wrote. “There seems to be far more alcohol in young people’s possession than ever before,” Griebel wrote. “We can’t speculate the precise reason, but urge parents to be alert to signs of possible alcohol use by your children.”
Mirror staff reports
A student at Federal Way High School was expelled after an unloaded gun was discovered in his backpack. In a letter to parents on Tuesday, Principal Lisa Griebel said the weapon was discovered at the end of the school day Feb. 22 during a search of some students’ lockers. The search initially began as an investigation into a potential violation of the school district’s alcohol policy. No ammunition was found in the gun, in the backpack, or in the student’s locker,
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legislative actions. Getting a 66 and two-thirds vote is even more challenging,” she added. It appears that this point may be a moot issue, with the State Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on Feb. 28 that struck down the two-thirds provision. Another factor in this year’s round of budget planning is the fact the Legislature is on a “long” or 105-day session. Whether this will mean an emergency session is needed, as has been the case in recent years, is unknown at this time, she said. Along with that, the in-house politics of the State Senate, in which two members of the Democratic party, Rodney Tom and Tim Sheldon, have sided with Republicans, has also added another layer of uncertainty to the whole process, she noted. While the outlook is still murky, McLean did venture some predictions about the state budget. “When I think about
what I would expect to see on April 28, or potentially before,” she said, referencing the last day of the current legislative session, “is I would expect out of those 180 educational bills, approximately 20 percent or so will pass. That’s pretty standard, and that some of those will require new activities on the school district, or a change in our current activities, and probably most of those will come with insufficient or no funding to implement.” McLean said she expects the restoration of salary allocation reductions, which would be a positive in this case, because it would take furlough days off the table for the district when it comes to trimming the budget. Along with that, she said any other new funding would essentially be programmatic, meaning that it would be increased funding for specific programs. “In the meantime, we’re still planning,” she said.
[ SAFETY from page 1]
the successful passage of the school levy last fall. “We’re working on a camera plan. Thank you voters, again,” he said. The plan includes additional cameras where needed, replacing digital video recorders with network video recorders, making the entire system digital, and connecting the entire system to the city of Federal Way’s Safe City system. Davidson said the district will educate students and staff on being aware, and also on anti-bullying efforts and similar ideas, to stop any potential violence before it ever starts. “This is one of the most important things we do. We continually stress the vigilance of staff members, students, and the communities surrounding our schools. Because, frankly, being aware is probably the best thing you can do for yourself,” he said. “We have an emphasis on (prevention of) harassment, intimidation and bullying at all schools, helping all students understand…and talk about that.” Davidson said the district will continue to address the balance between safety and openness at schools. “Ten-foot fences around our schools with a single gate would, quite frankly, be safer,” he said. “I don’t believe any of us want to work, or send our children, to that kind of place. It doesn’t help the future of teaching people how to deal with these things and reducing violence.”
that prioritize needs and address the issues identified in the audits.” Board Vice President Angela Griffin asked Davidson if the results of the audits will be shared. “How are we being transparent with our parents and guardians and students, around the work we’re doing in each individual school?” she asked. “We will want to communicate very clearly. Now obviously we won’t want to communicate some of the weaknesses we find, because it can, unfortunately, give the bad guys information they can use,” Davidson replied. “I will be expecting that each principal addresses their school community with what’s happening, what we’re able to do, even what we’re not able to do, because some of those things can have tremendous costs, and we have to prioritize and determine what makes the most sense to be the safest.”
Cameras and anti-bully efforts
Davidson noted that Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson and officers met with FWPS officials, and various school and staff administrators recently, to talk about how things should proceed in case of an emergency or violent event like Sandy Hook. The deputy superintendent touched on the new security camera system the district was able to get after