School safety top of mind for West High faculty; keeps Gov. Cox 'awake' at night

SALT LAKE CITY — A crowd of West High School faculty and staff members — along with a student or two — rallied outside the school before and after class Friday, calling for increased security following last month's shooting of a student in the school's parking lot.

The demonstrators stood shoulder-to-shoulder, chanting the words emblazoned on a long orange banner that they carried together: "We protect us... Because no one else will."

Ri Pickle, a language arts teacher at West High, told the Deseret News that the Salt Lake City School District is listening to their safety concerns. Officials from the district have met with the employees to discuss issues. "They're willing to work with us," Pickle said.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shares those same concerns. Cox this week said school safety is the one policy that "keeps him awake" at night, and he dreads "that phone call" delivering awful school news.

Friday's demonstrations outside the Salt Lake City school, according to Pickle, were designed to keep school safety improvements discussions at the forefront — while ensuring that West High School students are learning in a safe environment.

"We're just keeping the pressure on (the district) to keep talking to us," said Pickle, adding that they were speaking to the media as private citizens — not representatives of West High School or the Salt Lake City School District.

At a Friday afternoon press gathering across the street from the school, West High School social studies teacher Holly Reynolds said the recent parking lot shooting may have prompted the staff's call to action, "but there are a lot of safety and security issues at West High that are ongoing and we need help."

There have been fights and other violent incidents at West High, there are often people wandering the halls during class time, Reynolds said, "and we have no way to know if they are West High students or not."

The demonstrators and staff members are calling for additional day-to-day resources.

"We need more people," said Reynolds. "We have a huge campus — and we just don't have enough manpower to take care of the whole area of the school."

Although the demonstrators who gathered outside the entrance of the high school on a frigid December morning and afternoon were almost all adults, a few West High School students offered support for calls for increased security measures.

"I think it's important for us to stand with our teachers because they're limited on what they can do and say. ... They are just as scared as we are," said Rocio Romero, a 17-year-old West High junior.

The Salt Lake City School District released a statement saying "We agree with our teachers: all students and staff should be safe at school. We will continue our ongoing efforts to keep all our schools safe. We know the West High School administration is also doing its part, working to develop consistent and clear protocols and processes to increase safety.

"We've met with West High teachers to hear their concerns. Last night, we received the teachers' follow-up communication and look forward to continuing our work together to keep West High School safe."

West High School parking lot shooting

On Nov. 7, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the West High School parking lot.

Salt Lake City Police Department say they began investigating after a local hospital reported that a teenager showed up with a gunshot wound and told the staff that someone had shot him at West High School.

The boy required surgery, but the gunshot was not life-threatening.

Salt Lake gang detectives assisted with the shooting investigation after police learned there may have been a "gang-nexus to the incident," a press release stated.

"Many of the teenagers appeared to know each other and appeared to be involved in an ongoing conflict. At some point, someone discharged a firearm and a bullet struck the 15-year-old," the release said.

The teenagers left the parking lot in various directions, and a family member reportedly drove the 15-year-old to the hospital after he returned home injured, according to investigators.

At the time, police called the shooting an isolated incident between several teenagers. Additional patrols were assigned to West High School following the shooting. A 16-year-old boy was arrested on Nov. 20 in connection to the shooting.

No notice

Pickle said teachers did not learn that a student had been shot during school hours until the information was released by the police.

"Typically, we get a message from our district or administration saying that something has happened and giving us an update before the general public knows, so we can help our students."

But in the immediate aftermath of the West High parking lot shooting, "we didn't receive any notice," said Pickle. "That was a little shocking."

Following the Nov. 7 parking lot shooting, Pickle and other West High School employees requested a meeting with district officials to discuss ways to boost security.

The shooting, Pickle said, "is not an isolated incident, it's one of many, and we're just feeling like there is no one willing to help us out, and so we decided to take some action."

Pickle and others met with district officials prior to the Thanksgiving holiday break. The district, Pickle said, expressed interest in working with the West High School employees to address safety issues.

Read the full article at Deseret.com.

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