After three students recently brought weapons to Hillsboro R-3 school property, Superintendent Aaron Cornman alerted parents this week about the problem and asked them for help to solve it, he said.
Cornman issued a letter Oct. 4 to district parents saying, “Over the past few weeks our district, specifically at the secondary school level – grades 7-12, has seen an increase in the number of weapons being brought to school.”
The letter goes on to say, “I write to you today to ask for your assistance in visiting with your children about the seriousness of bringing a weapon, or imitation weapon, to school. In order to maintain the safety of the educational environment, school officials will strictly enforce the necessary discipline consequences as it relates to weapons.”
Cornman said today (Oct. 6) that the letter was written after three incidents when students were found with weapons on district property.
“One involved an Airsoft (pellet) gun and two incidents involved knives,” he said. “The gun was made (by the manufacturer) to look like a real gun.”
He said a student had the pellet gun on the high school parking lot during the Hillsboro High Homecoming Dance on Sept. 30.
The district filed a report with the Hillsboro Police and, because the district has a student resource office from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, one with the Sheriff’s Office over that incident, Cornman said.
He said, in an effort to keep everyone safe, he sent the letter to parents to urge them to talk to their children and stress that no weapons, real or toy, are to be brought on Hillsboro R-3 property.
Cornman said he does not believe the number of weapons recently found on Hillsboro R-3 property is out of the ordinary compared to other school districts.
“I think it’s about on pace with other districts,” he said. “My thought was I want parents to know we’re safe.”
He said he sends his children to Hillsboro R-3 schools and would not send them there if he thought they were in danger.
Cornman said district privacy policies prevent releasing any information about disciplinary actions taken against any individual student. However, any student found with weapons on school property could be suspended for one school year or expelled, he said.