CAMPUS EXPULSIONS DOWN; HART SCHOOL DISTRICT CREDITS ITS ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

In the past school year, more than 50 students have been expelled from Hart District high schools and junior highs - the leading cause being drug-related incidents.

Still, the numbers are declining, and William S. Hart Union High School District officials credit a zero-tolerance policy that provides no second chances for students with drugs or weapons - including facsimiles - on campus.

``Certainly, we have been more conscious about safety issues,'' said Michael Allmandinger, director of pupil services for the district. ``Our zero-tolerance program and the consequences is having an effect.''

Of the 66 students that district officials recommended the school board expel in the 1998-1999 school year, at least 39 received expulsion suspensions, 20 received full expulsions, and seven were not expelled.

Students who receive expulsion suspensions are transferred to another high school in the district; under a full expulsion, a student is sent to Bowman High School, Hart's continuation campus.

While the number of actual expulsions was not available for previous years, officials said that 91 students were recommended for expulsion in 1997-98; 87 in 1996-97; 57 in 1995-96; and 39 in 1994-1995.

Although expulsions declined last year, they are greater than figures from a few years ago. However, the schools have seen a tremendous amount of growth in the period, and the expulsion rate shows a trend of decline.

The largest decrease in campus crime has been in violent offenses. Officials say that fights on campus are down. Last year, six students were expelled for battery from the district's eight traditional campuses.

But a disturbing trend is the increase in drug offenses leading to expulsions, Allmandinger said. In the past year, 23 students were expelled for being in possession or under the influence of controlled substances - mostly marijuana.

Allmandinger said the increase in drug offenses could be linked to the district's year-old program involving random checks by drug-sniffing dogs.

``Certainly, having the dogs on campus may have contributed to our increase,'' Allmandinger said, adding that the program also serves to deter drug use.

Students who are caught with drugs are expelled under the zero-tolerance policy and encouraged to participate in a Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education Committee, officials said.

While drug offenses top the expulsion list, a larger concern for school administrators is the possession of weapons on campus. Last year, 11 students were found to be carrying weapons, including 10 who had knives. And while genuine weapons are banned, so are toy guns, knives and other replicas - and the consequences for possession are the same.

Last year, three junior high school students were expelled from a school and transferred to other campuses after they were found playing with toy guns while waiting for a school bus.

``They were at a bus stop with look-alike guns,'' Allmandinger said. ``They were carrying nonreal guns that looked real.''

Allmandinger said that a passing motorist saw the kids and contacted authorities.

While Allmandinger acknowledges that the kids were just playing around, he says that the school district takes any possession of a weapon, whether real or imitation, very seriously.

``No one knows,'' Allmandinger said. ``Sometimes it's a real gun.''

Last year, a teen playing with a toy gun at a Canyon Country Carl's Jr. Restaurant was shot in the leg after an off-duty law enforcement officer thought the boy was carrying a real firearm, he said.

Allmandinger said that a possible solution could be to end the production of toy guns.

``That era may have to be over,'' he said.

School shootings across the nation have heightened concerns about weapons - real or toy - on campus. Last year, one student was expelled for having a gun at school in Santa Clarita.

A national concern that has changed local policy is the issue of threats. They have been taken much more seriously in recent years, Allmandinger said.

``Before, when a kid says that he's going to kill someone, you didn't think anything of it - kids don't kill kids,'' Allmandinger said. ``But now we know better. Kids do kill kids.''

Last year, two students were suspended after they sent a threatening, hateful e-mail to a teacher.

Expulsions don't come easy for administrators, Allmandinger said. Each case is investigated by school administrators; an expulsion review committee, which interviews students and parents; and finally by the school board, which has the final say.

``It's not pleasant to recommend expulsion for a youngster,'' Allmandinger said. ``It's just something we have to do.''

EXPEL

In the past year, more than 60 students have been expelled from Hart District high schools and junior highs - the majority for drug-related incidents. The numbers, officials say, are declining and note that their zero tolerance policy appears to be paying off because campus fights and violence have declined.

EXPULSIONS FOR 1998-1999 SCHOOL YEAR:

30% Full expulsions

59% Suspended Expulsion

11% Not expelled

Total: 68 Recommended

REASONS FOR EXPULSION:

22 - possession of or under the influence of a controlled substance.

11 - possession of a weapon (10 incidents - pocket knives; one incident - stick or bat)

6 - battery (non-mutual combat)

5 - Making Threats (3 incidents against employees; one incident against a student; one incident against a sheriff deputy)

4 - contnued defiance (After all other options have been exhausted)

3 - possession of imitation firearm (one incident)

2 - damage to school property (one incident - arson)

2 - stealing a car from school campus (one incident)

2 - hate violence (one incident - e-mail sent to teacher)

2 - possession of an explosive device (one incident - M-80 thrown into a crowd)

1 - brandishing a knife

1 - drug sales (marijuana)

Source: William S. Hart Union High School District

Box: Expel (see text)

CAPTION(S):

Box