STUDENT'S SUSPENSION EXTENDED; DISTRICT WAITING FOR REPORT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

The suspension of a Juniper Intermediate School student involved in a fistfight that killed a classmate was extended indefinitely Tuesday, as school officials await the completion of the Sheriff's Department investigation.

A Los Angeles activist and the family of the dead boy, 13-year-old Stephan Corson, have been calling for the immediate expulsion of the 14-year-old boy, but Palmdale School District officials said they must follow established procedures.

``If we violate the due process, they can nullify the decision made,'' Superintendent Nancy Smith said. ``They can appeal to the county Board of Education.''

A memorial fund has been established for Corson's family, to help with funeral expenses.

Checks should be made out to the boy's mother, Mary Corson, Account No. 136348000, and mailed to Kaiser Federal, 131 N. El Molino, Suite 100, Pasadena, CA 91101-1896.

The 14-year-old boy, who was not identified because of his age, has been on suspension since the Nov. 19 campus altercation that occurred just after school let out. He has not been charged with any crime.

Smith said the district extended the suspension because it has not yet received a report on the incident from sheriff's investigators. Smith added that Juniper's principal was still interviewing witnesses.

State law allows the district to suspend the student for up to 30 school days. The school board must decide upon what disciplinary action to take within 40 days, Smith said.

The boy's father works for the Palmdale School District.

After the district receives the investigators' report, the principal will make a recommendation to the hearing committee, made up of Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services Don Crane and two to three district principals, Smith said.

The committee will review the evidence and make a recommendation to the school board, which will make the final decision. The actions taken could range from returning the student to the school to expelling him and placing him in alternative school, Smith said.

The two boys began fighting just after class let out at about 1:55 p.m. According to reports from coroner's officials and witnesses, Stephan was struck in the side of the face and fell, hitting his chin on the pavement.

A witness said a teacher's aide and a student pulled the boys apart after they began rolling around on the ground and tried to restrain them. When the aide let the 14-year-old boy loose, he charged, kicking Stephan in the thigh and punching him in the side of the face, behind the eye, witnesses said.

School officials and police described the confrontation as mutual combat, and not racially motivated. Witnesses said the boys were yelling at each other, but no racial epithets were cast.