Expelled Student Returns To DHS

DAYTON - A Dayton High School freshman who was reportedly expelled last fall for carrying a pocket knife to school after allegedly making a threat to another student has been allowed to return to campus.

The school district itself is tight-lipped about the incident and about the student's return at the start of this semester, citing privacy laws. But the freshman's renewed presence on campus has created concerns and discomfort among some students and parents who say he should not have been allowed to return.

One family has decided to transfer their child to another district as a result of his return, while another took their student out of school around the time of the incident, which took place last October.

"I'm afraid he's a loose cannon and we're going to be on the news," said Darla Brown, a Dayton resident who has decided to home school her son, former DHS freshman Brandon Goodell, after one of his fellow students allegedly received a text message from the expelled student threatening to harm Goodell.

"I think the child needs help," Brown said. "I feel sorry for him."

The Times is familiar with the identity of the student but has chosen not to publish it because he is a minor and has not been charged with any offense.

The Dayton School District reportedly handled the incident with little involvement from law enforcement officials, who nonetheless confirmed they were called in to stand by when school district officials searched the freshman's locker.

School district officials, who would neither confirm nor deny the incident, reportedly had to walk a fine line between its "no weapons" policy protecting students' safety and the individual student's right to a public education.

The school district reportedly told one family the freshman had met the conditions it had set for his return to the classroom.

The Times reached the father of freshman by cell phone, but he declined to comment.

"I have nothing to say to you," he said.

The Incidents

Students and parents report the freshman was strangely obsessed with a certain girl in his grade, Mikala DeRuwe, who was dating other boys from time to time.

Sometime in October, De- Ruwe received a text message threatening to harm Goodell, her boy friend at the time, if Goodell harmed her, according to her mother Tina DeRuwe and to Brown. The freshman's concerns that something might happen to Mikala DeRuwe were completely baseless, Brown said.

Following this and possibly other indirect threats that may have been reported to the district, the school reportedly decided to suspend the freshman for two days.

About a week after the alleged indirect threat, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office received a call from the district asking assistance for a search of the student's locker.

"They didn't know how he'd react," said Sheriff's Deputy Joe Helm, who went over to the high school to stand by.

District officials did not discover any weapons in the boy's locker, but Helm said they later (after the deputy left) found what has been described by sources as a pocket knife.

Although pocket knives can be used as a weapon, they do not meet the definition of a "dangerous" weapon under Washington state law if they are under a certain size. It is unclear how big the pocket knife was, but the sheriff's office did not pursue a criminal investigation, Helm said.

The district, which handled the incident from that point without Helm, reportedly decided the discovery of the knife was grounds to expel the freshman and he was sent off campus.

Weapons At School

High school students interviewed for this story said it's not unusual for kids to bring pocket knives to campus despite a school ban of the item on campus. But reports of weapons discoveries by school officials appear to be rare.

During the 2009 - 2010 school year, the last period for which such data is available, 295 public schools in Washington reported 1,842 incidents that involved knives or daggers to the State's Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office as they are required by law.

During the same period, the Dayton School District reported no such incidents, though they did occur in previous years: two incidents in 2008-2009, one in 2007-2008 and two in 2005-2006.

State law does not prohibit possession of common pocket knives or other sharp tools on school grounds. However, individual school policies and rules typically do prohibit students from possessing any knives on school grounds or at school events.

Under state law, districts are required to provide notice of threats of violence or harm to the student (or school employee) who is the subject of the threat, which is defined as "to communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent to cause bodily injury in the future to the person threatened or to any other person."

Helm said no such threats were brought to the attention of the sheriff's office, which routinely investigates reports of them.

The Times approached the school district about the alleged incidents late last year. Despite assurances that the newspaper wasn't interested in publishing the identity of the individual student, the district still cited state privacy laws in declining to confirm or deny that any incident took place.

The district is obligated to report expulsions involving weapons to the state, but not until after the close of the school year.

In response to a written Times request for more information, Superintendent Doug Johnson said the district has an obligation to "protect the privacy of the families involved."

"As such, we are not always in a position to 'supplement, correct, confirm or deny details' that you may have heard through the rumor mill," Johnson wrote.

In general terms, Johnson cited the district's own policy in assessing and handling threats, which starts with a credibility determination. "Absent credibility, the threat is handled as student misconduct and a discipline matter. If the threat is found to be credible, in addition to serious disciplinary action, the district notifies law enforcement, the victim's family and any staff that may need to be made aware."

In case of a weapon at school, the district "notifies law enforcement and usually the incident results in an emergency expulsion, which removes the student immediately until the allegations can be reviewed and appropriate discipline assessed."

Under state law, a "dangerous" weapon means "a weapon, device, instrument materials, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2.5 inches in length."

Johnson went on to write that "when a student brings a weapon to school, the district must review the circumstances as a whole, including any prior disciplinary issues with the student and whether the student used the weapon to intimidate."

In Washington, a student who has been expelled or suspended is also entitled to appeal the discipline imposed.

Under state law, school districts are encouraged to find alternatives to suspension, including reducing the length of a student's suspension conditioned by the commencement of counseling or other treatment services.

"The district may also condition the student's return to school on continued counseling, monitoring or alternative locations of services to limit contact with certain individuals," Johnson wrote. "Since the district is legally mandated to provide educational services to all of the students in its boundaries, we look for alternatives that allow our students to receive the help they need to be successful at school while balancing their needs with the rights of other students to be safe in the school environment."

Concerns Remain

Despite reports that the freshman met the conditions set for his return, some parents and students at Dayton High School are still concerned about his renewed presence on school grounds, in part because the district has shared only minimal information with them about the incident and its discipline.

"I don't think he should be allowed in the school," said one high school student who recalls the expelled freshman's obsession with DeRuwe, whom he said the freshman called and texted to the point of "stalking."

"What will he do when he's mad?" he asked.

The same student said that after the freshman's return this semester, another student spontaneously asked an English teacher during class why the freshman was allowed back on campus, which led to a class discussion in which a number of students expressed their concerns about the boy's return.

Another student, a friend of the freshman, said the boy is fine and no one should feel threatened by him.

One teacher said the academic staff was informed by the district about the student's return, but said higher ups shared few other details.

Brownsaidshetook Goodell out of school almost immediately after DeRuwe allegedly received the cell phone text with the freshman's alleged threat, claiming that he and other students were "living in a state of fear."

Tina DeRuwe said she and her husband transferred their daughter to Waitsburg High School the Monday of the freshman's return, shortly after high school principal Andy Maheras informed them the previously banned student had fulfilled the conditions for his return and there were no legal grounds to keep him out of school any longer.

"I don't want her to be on an emotional rollercoaster being around him," said Tina DeRuwe, who shared that her daughter and the freshman have known each other since they were little, but were never more than friends.

At the end of 2010, the boy started acting strange around other boys she'd hang out with, threatening to hurt them "if they hurt her," Tina DeRuwe and other sources said.

"It made her feel very uncomfortable," according to the mother, who said her daughter stopped talking to the boy all together last fall. "It scared her."

Tina DeRuwe said her family would do whatever it takes to allow her daughter to focus on her education.

"I don't care whose child (the boy) it is," she said. "The fact that anyone feels threatened is not OK."

After the alleged threats in October, DeRuwe met with Maheras, but she only heard through the grapevine that the freshman had been suspended. Then, just before the beginning of the new semester, she received an email from Maheras that the boy would come back.

Some teachers said they aren't second-guessing the district's legal decisions and don't blame the freshman's parents for getting him back into school.

In a recent interview in person, Johnson said the district can never fully guarantee the safety of kids on campus, just as incidents can happen anywhere any time. Still he regrets Brown's and the DeRuwe's decision.

"I'm always disappointed when people pull their kids out of our schools," he said. "But I also understand their choice. In Washington, you get to choose."