by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Last week, the Gazette reported there had been a special meeting on a student matter that lasted until after 11:17 p.m. It was extrapolated that this was regarding the weapons policy violation that had occurred at a volleyball game at the end of August with an Airsoft pistol that had been in a student vehicle.
Due to the lateness of the hour, the board had suspended the hearing until after their regular meeting this week, meeting in executive session with the hearing lawyer but taking no further testimony. When the mother of the student attempted to speak to the board at the time of public comment near the beginning of the regular meeting, the board would not allow her to proceed, stating they were still deliberating and could not allow their potential judgement to be altered by additional testimony.
"The hearing protocol does not allow for additional testimony on this," said Superintendent Guy Johnson. Board member Tana Clark concurred, noting that because it was about a minor, they didn't want that sort of information to be public.
The mother pointed out she didn't care if it was public, but former board president Shannon Nordstrom explained, "I know you guys are very concerned about this, as we are as a school district, and it's sensitive, but there is a process that's being followed. Nobody likes hearing this, but there's a hearing that's in process. Certain evidence has been brought to us. We are jurors in that hearing process, and so the things that we've been shown are what the attorneys have brought forward to the board, and so there can't be other evidence being brought in at this point."
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