school walkouts

CAJON VALLEY SCHOOL BOARD UNDER FIRE FOR RESPONSES TO GUN VIOLENCE PROTESTS

 

By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Standing room only crowd included dozens of gun control supporters as well as gun rights advocates

April 17, 2018 (El Cajon) – Actions of the Cajon Valley Union School District have become targets for both sides in the gun violence debate. At the April 10th board meeting, members came under fire over:

  • Hillsdale Middle School students put on lunch detention for participating in an on-campus walk out during the nationwide March for Our Lives, an event aiming to to prevent gun violence on campuses;
  •  Termination of a contract for counseling intern Margaret Katchur Morghen, who sat with students during detention as a “learning exercise on the First Amendment” and also spoke with media about the walk-out;
  • School board member Jim Miller firing off a derisive letter to a retired teacher who had written to the Superintendent asking for actions to reduce gun violence at schools. Miller responded on behalf of the San Diego Gun Owners Political Action Committee, and wore a National Rifle Association (NRA) hat during the school board’s April 10, 2018 public meeting.

Those actions got the public up in arms, figuratively speaking. Gun rights advocates and people concerned about gun violence packed the hearing room at the April 10th school board meeting.  Eight people testified during public comments, split evenly with four rounds on each side.


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