By Michael Hixon, Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif. The Tribune Content Agency
Manhattan Beach school officials could have communicated with the community better and more promptly following the discovery of an unloaded gun in a student's backpack at Manhattan Beach Middle School on March 19, they said during a town hall this week.
Community members attended the town hall on Monday, April 7, during which school and police officials detailed the events that led to the unidentified student being detained.
Parents have expressed their displeasure that they were not notified sooner and there were no lockdown orders. Reportedly, around 300 students were absent from class on Friday, April 4, to protest the school's response.
At Monday's meeting, Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent John Bowes said communication will be improved.
"We're engaging a crisis communications expert and a safety expert so we get an outside look, in addition to our own internal after action analysis of what happened, because we want our systems to be as effective as they can be, as responsive in real time as they can be, and as transparent in real time as they can be," Bowes said at the Monday town hall. "And clearly, we have some areas to improve on with that, and we're not just going it alone. We're engaging some experts to help us with that work."
The community, Bowes said, will be able to give their feedback at the next MBUSD board meeting on Wednesday, May 7. A safety plan update will also be discussed at that meeting, with final approval of the updated plan coming in June.
"Families," Bowes said, "should expect to see communication from their school site principal coming soon about how they can participate as part of the safety plan revision process."
MBMS principal Luke Olesiuk came under scrutiny at Monday's meeting for the handling of the incident.
"Communication could have been delivered more quickly," Olesiuk said, "particularly with staff and those who may still have been on campus between the end of the school day and 5 p.m. when the investigation concluded for the day.
"I also want to acknowledge that I should have worked more quickly to provide guidance to staff about how to talk about the event with students," he added, "and to pull our staff together so that we could respond in a coordinated manner with a common message of support for students."
Earlier in the day of the incident on March 19, during a 15-minute snack break, according to the school's website, a staff member reported to a vice principal "that they had heard a second- or third-hand discussion about a possible vape or knife in the student's backpack," according to Olesiuk.
"This information should have been fully investigated more promptly, and it was not addressed until seventh period," Olesiuk said. "I was not informed about this report, and I did not know of any concerns about a possible weapon on campus until I was contacted by the teacher during seventh period."
The initial report came to Olesiuk at around 2 p.m, he said, and the principal "immediately walked out and had some conversations with the teacher and other adult staff members in the area."
A couple of minutes later, around 2:04 p.m. the "student was traveling with me to the front office," he said, "and within the next 10 to 15 minutes, additional checks were made and the firearm was located at that point in time with just a few minutes before the final bell."
During the investigation in his office, Olesiuk said, it was determined that the student had an unloaded gun, not a knife, as initially reported.
"There was no mention of a gun until the student disclosed that he had a gun in his backpack," Olesiuk said.
"Shortly before the end of seventh period, the gun was immediately secured and disabled," Olesiuk added. "There was an empty magazine that did not fit the gun in the backpack. There was no ammunition found in the gun or in the backpack. At no time was there an active threat or any indication of additional firearms, the involvement of any other individuals or plans to injure or harm anyone else."
Olesiuk said this was "not a cause for a lockdown."
"My determination was the situation was contained, and that there was no need to call lockdown, as there was no imminent threat to the safety of students, staff or the campus as a whole," Olesiuk said. "The discovery of a firearm occurred just a few minutes before the end of seventh period, and I felt that, given the circumstances and the fact that I believe the situation was contained, the best course was to allow students to leave campus. I want to be clear that the decision to not call lockdown was mine and mine alone."
School resource officers arrived on campus after the final bell, Olesiuk said, and the MBUSD office had been contacted.
"However, because I believed that the situation was fully under control," Olesiuk said, "I recognized that I did not communicate with enough urgency."
The Manhattan Beach Police Department sent a canine unit to the campus.
"The canine unit went to all of the students classrooms, as well as the quad, other open areas on campus, and the PE locker room, and they cleared these areas before 5 p.m.," Olesiuk said. "Also, before 5 p.m. in the course of our interview with the student, we concluded that we had all relevant information regarding his actions in bringing the firearm to campus."
Days following the incident, Olesiuk said, the officials received information about electronic communications that occurred among students before the incident, including a picture of the student with a gun.
"The student sent the photograph and immediately followed it with a statement that read, this is not a threat," Olesiuk said. "This is not to excuse the photograph, but to provide some additional context about events leading to the incident on March 19."
It is the principal's discretion to "determine whether a situation is an emergency or whether it is contained," Bowes said Monday, and Olesiuk had followed correct protocols.
"Principal Olesiuk," Bowes said, "determined that the situation was contained, contacted MBPD, the student and the weapon were secured, and our Manhattan Beach Police Department officers quickly arrived on the scene.
"It's essential the information we share is accurate," he added, "and does not interfere with the ongoing work of law enforcement or district response teams."
Bowes also said school and district officials did not intend to withhold information from parents or the community - but the confirm the facts first.
"Still," he said, "we acknowledge that we could have and should have communicated sooner and more clearly."
Police Chief Rachel Johnson said that the case has been submitted to "juvenile probation and to the Los Angeles County District Attorney."
The MBPD has two school resource officers and two canines, one that is an "apprehension" dog and another that is an "explosives detection" dog.
"We were receiving a lot of information from a variety of sources, and so one of those sources indicated that there was either additional ammunition or weapons in Polliwog Park," Johnson said of the March 19 incident. "It wasn't the thing that we could confirm or dispel without doing our actual due diligence. And so that's what we did. (It just) shows that even though the investigation had moved on to another phase. When we get reports like this, we don't just sit on them, we do what we can to either confirm them or dispel them and ensure the area is safe, just provide that peace of mind."
As for the student, said Irene Gonzalez-Castillo, assistant superintendent of Educational Services, there are a "number of behaviors that result in mandatory recommendation for expulsion."
"These include," Gonzalez-Castillo said, "possessing a firearm, brandishing a knife at another person, selling controlled substances, committing or attempting to commit sexual assault, or possessing an explosive."
After due process for the student, the superintendent or principal "must recommend expulsion" to the school board, which has the final say.
"If the board makes a decision to expel a student, the expulsion typically lasts for the remainder of the current semester and also the following semester," Gonzalez-Castillo said. "During that expulsion period, students are not permitted on any district properties."
A rehabilitation plan is also created for the student, Gonzalez-Castillo said.
"Participating in counseling or other supports that are identified for the student, and these these actions and requirements are part of the rehabilitation plan to ensure the student can reenter school safely if a parent decides and student sites to apply for readmission," Gonzalez-Castillo said. "We need to make sure that the rehabilitation plan is clear and that they know that in order to even be considered, everything needs to be completed."
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After the March 19 incident, Bowes said, they started the process of updating the school's systems to "ensure that we can communicate quickly and efficiently."
"We're already exploring ways to improve our ability to send text message alerts directly to staff," Bowes said, "and to streamline our messaging tools so that we're not relying solely on email or slower forms of communication."
The district, Bowes said, is working to align all school sites with district-wide communication protocols to ensure there is "consistency, clarity and confidence and how we share information during any kind of emergency or developing situation."
The incident, Bowes said, provided lessons to the district - and those lessons are being implemented.
"Our goal moving forward is to communicate more promptly, more transparently," he said, "and with the kind of clarity and responsiveness that our staff, students and families deserve."
One security option could be installing metal detectors, said Deputy Superintendent Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard.
"We have heard calls both ways for metal detectors, and this is something that we will be looking into," Murakawa-Leopard said Monday. "We want to make sure that if we invest in a tool like a metal detector or anything else that we put in place in our facilities, that is the best use of scarce resources to provide the most efficacy in ensuring that we really are impacting student safety. So we will consider it. We have not made any decisions in that area."
MBUSD board President Wysh Weinstein asked parents on Monday to discuss with their children about having a trusted adult to talk to, if needed.
"Ask them to look around for kids that just need to be noticed," Weinstein said. "Everyone needs to be seen, and that includes the people in this room. Remind them that those small connections go a long way, teachers and administrators, you might be some kids only lifeline.
"I know it's going to take some time to rebuild trust, and some of you, we may never get it back," Weinstein added. "But that doesn't mean that we're going to give up over here, as Dr. Bowes said many times, there is always room for improvement when it comes to safety for the sake of our kids. The only choice that we have is to get there together."
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