SIMI VALLEY : New Task Force to Study School Violence

Although violence has not been a problem at Simi Valley schools, a task force will be formed to study safety and help develop a plan for targeting problems found at individual schools, officials said.

The task force of teachers, students, parents, principals and community leaders will look at issues such as the merits of putting fences around schools, locker safety and weapons on campus.

But its task will largely focus on surveying opinions of students and faculty members at each school to determine specific issues, Assistant Supt. Susan Parks said.

The Simi Valley Unified School District Board of Education approved the plan Tuesday. The task force will begin meeting in the fall, Parks said.

The district disciplined six students last school year for bringing weapons on campus, but the knives and BB guns confiscated were not used against other students, Parks said.

Most of those children were caught after showing the weapons off to friends, who told principals or teachers, Parks said. Graffiti markings have been a growing problem, mostly because of the cost of removal, she said.

But board members agreed it’s better to be prepared before violence becomes a problem than to respond afterward.

“When you run into problems is when you get complacent,” Parks said.