Ontario ordinance targets middle school crime

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Two Ontario Middle School students were cited for disrupting the school process Jan. 11, one was cited Jan. 8 and another was cited Jan. 16, Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said Monday.

Students can be cited by police if they disobey instructions from teachers, administrators or school staff in any educational or extra-curricular school sponsored activity. Or, if students use words, gestures or conduct toward staff or other students that impedes order in an educational setting, according to the ordinance.

In a related matter, two Ontario Middle School students were expelled last week in connection to an alleged incident where a gun was brought to the school in mid-December.

Though no teachers or police saw the gun in school, one student was cited with the felony crime of possession of a firearm in a public building by Ontario police Dec. 18.

Police said previously the case came to them days after the incident, when a parent submitted an unloaded handgun, which had allegedly been involved in the incident.

No information regarding the incident was released to the general public for nearly a month.

The police investigation into the gun incident was based on statements from more than 10 middle school students, many of which conflicted with statements from the youth who was cited, Alexander said.

Other students had their hands on the gun, Ontario School District Superintendent Dennis Carter said.

A letter dated Jan. 16 was sent to Ontario School District parents indicating a gun was brought to the middle school in late December. The letter was signed by Ontario Middle School Principal LaVelle Cornwell and Carter.

“Safety is a priority at Ontario Middle School and throughout the Ontario School District.

“The Ontario Middle School administrators have met with the Ontario Chief of Police and are setting in motion an action plan to address safety issues.

“The majority of our students do make safe choices,” the letter stated.

The student cited by police in connection to the alleged gun incident was arraigned in court, Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee said.

Because of the confidentiality of juvenile court cases, though, it is unclear where the youth’s case stands in the court process.

Ontario Middle School has 679 enrolled students.

The state utilizes an allowable quota of one expulsion for every 100 students to monitor safety in schools.

If that quota is exceeded, like it was last year at Ontario High School, then the state puts the school on a “watch list” under the school safety provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.

A student can be expelled for one year, Carter has said.

Students expelled in connection to the gun incident at the middle school were suspended Dec. 19.