RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – School safety dominated discussion at the first Richmond School Board meeting since the deadly shooting outside Huguenot High School’s graduation on June 6.
The events of that day left a lasting impression on some school board members who were there, prompting members like Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed to speak up during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’m not okay. And I am going to say that in the most transparent way,” Harris-Muhammed said. “What we did not agree on at the last school board meeting did not matter when your life is flashing before your eyes. It just did not matter.”
The mass shooting that took place on June 6 prompted school board members to discuss possible solutions to the problem of violence in Richmond Schools.
Board member Kenya Gibson suggested the idea of hiring an auditor who will focus solely on school safety. Other board members suggested that this motion needed more discussion first, causing Gibson to push back.
“We must make a hasty decision, we have had a student die,” Gibson said. “And we are going to sit on the stage and say ‘I’m not ready to make a hasty decision’. I agree we need to talk about solutions. I have put a solution on the table.”
The idea was shot down by the other school board members because they said they want to hear from their newly hired director of safety and security first. The school board is already planning to have a safety presentation and hear from the new director at their next meeting in July.
“I’m not sure an auditor is the correct position, I’d like to hear from our director. Doesn’t seem like that’s appropriate as part of this motion,” board member Elizabeth Doerr said.
School board members say school violence is a community issue that first begins with mental health, so they say the topic is too important to make any quick decisions.
“This is a multi-layered, multifaceted issue,” board member Stephanie Rizzi said. “And putting a punitive Band-Aid will not address the underlying issues.”
School board members also said they want to wait for the details of a report on the graduation shooting to be released before they make any further decisions regarding school safety. That report is set to be released within 30 days of the incident.
