SEDGWICK COUNTY —After a week that saw three students taken into custody for allegedly having a gun at school and security staff at another school forced to use pepper spray to break up a disturbance in the cafeteria, USD 259 Superintendent Alicia Thompson responded with a statement on the district web site.
" You are likely aware of a rash of incidents relating to unacceptable behaviors in several of our high schools. Public attention has been drawn to fights and students gathering to video the incident, as well as incidents of students bringing a weapon to school. Thankfully there have been no threats with the weapons, and no injuries during the fights, but we take each of these incidents seriously. The actions of a small number of our students who cause commotion and fear in our schools is completely unacceptable, and it must stop.
The vast majority of our students come to school to learn, grow, make friends and explore opportunities for future careers. We commend our students who do the right thing, and when something doesn’t look or feel right, students should be reminded that if they “see something they should say something.”
Parents, regardless of the age of your child, please make sure they also know that disruptive behavior that threatens the learning environment of their school, and causes fear or disruption, will not be tolerated in our schools. While we know our community continues to deal with the stresses of social isolation and economic concerns, there is absolutely no tolerance for this behavior coming into our schools.
Additionally, at our September 12 Board of Education meeting, we will have an important presentation on WPS safety by Terri Moses, our division director of safety and environmental services. Ms. Moses will update the board on existing safety measures and share a new development that we will be excited to bring to our schools. More information will be shared after the meeting.
Overall, the school year has started out strong across our district. Students and teachers value the power of relationships and the supportive environment they find in our school communities. We will continue to do everything possible to earn your trust of and support for the Wichita Public Schools."
On August 29, police took a student at West High School into custody for having a gun on campus. On August 30, police took a Wichita Heights student with a gun on campus into custody. On Sept. 1, a Wichita Police Department School Resource Officer was working at East High School when they were notified by school staff of a student that was possibly in possession of a firearm, according to Officer Trevor Macy.
School staff searched a 16-year-old male student and found a handgun in his possession. The gun was seized, and the 16-year-old was booked into the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center for possession of a firearm by a juvenile and possession of a firearm on school grounds.
On August 29, Security staff at Wichita Southeast High School were forced to use pepper spray during an incident in the cafeteria.
"There was an altercation at the school involving 7 or 8 students during lunch that caused a large crowd to gather," according to USD 259 media relations manager Susan Arensman.
"The school security officer used pepper spray in the area to disperse the crowd. No students were directly sprayed. No one was injured."
"When situations get where we cannot get students to comply and the learning environment is deemed unsafe we may have to resort to these measures, School principal Ben Mitchell wrote in a note sent to parents and guardians.