A sheriff’s deputy used a Taser stun gun on a 15-year-old girl on Sept. 16, 2009, at Ragsdale High School after she threatened two faculty members and assaulted the officer, according to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department. The girl was never identified and what happened to her was never disclosed.
The most common restricted or confidential records in the public schools are student records, personnel records, student medical records, contract negotiations, grievances, legal actions and records with personally identifiable information, such as Social Security identification numbers.
The incident sparked another round of controversy about school resource officers using stun guns and the value of officers in the schools. Getting to the crime basics is difficult through records. Law enforcement chiefs say the level of violence is higher than reported by the schools. High Point Police Chief Jim Fealy recently told county officials that school resource officers have kept “catastrophic events from happening in our schools.”
But because of student privacy and juvenile justice laws, the details of violent incidents are not disclosed. Concern also is growing among parents.
Lisa Clapp, an Eastern Guilford High School parent who has filed for an at-large school board seat, has questioned school crime reports which she says do not reflect the often-violent school climate. She supports SROs in the schools.
“The days of worrying about parking and skipping school are long gone,” she said recently during a Guilford County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“Now we are talking about adult offenses, assault, burglary and drug violations. SROs provide the safety we need at school every day.”
dnivens@hpe.com | 888-3626
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