school dist. policy means nothing. see other threads about newberg SD they changed ther policy as it was aganist the law...See threads about court case that U of O lost.
Newberg Graphic | Front Page | District drops gun ban
District drops gun ban
Concealed carry — Regulation changed as Thatcher gets involved
• By: Laurent Bonczijk
• Published: 11/8/2011 7:00:00 PM
The Newberg School District is now in compliance with the law of the land. It's OK for patrons to pack heat on local school campuses, after the district dropped language banning the possession of firearms last week.
The change of language happened after the district received a complaint from a Beaverton resident who was attending a community event in Newberg, superintendent Paula Radich said. That was at about the same time Rep. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) wrote this newspaper to complain about the district's illegal practice and call on the administration to end it.
The administrative regulation regarding the community use of district facilities and grounds was banning "the use or possession of firearms, knives or other weapons." It now reads: "the use or possession of unlawful firearms, knives or other weapons," Radich said.
The issue of carrying weapons on campus is a fresh one for courts in Oregon after a state appeals court ruled in September that the Oregon University System couldn't ban guns on its campuses.
Thatcher in her missive took issue with the school board's refusal to revise its policy, known as KG, regarding the use of district facilities by community members.
The board took that position, Radich said, because "there is nothing in conflict with federal of state law in KG." As a matter of fact, she said, there is nothing in the text that even referenced weapons of any kind.
Where the problem was, Radich explained, was in the adjoining administrative regulation, which she has the power to change. After consulting with the committee that reviews administrative regulations (made up of Radich along with her assistant and three school board members) and the district's legal counsel, she modified the policy.
"Most districts are going to be out of compliance for a while," Radich said of what happens when laws change, because they generally wait for the Oregon School Board Association to send sample policies. In this case, she said, it took the district two or three weeks to research the subject after receiving the complaint.
"Some people don't understand that it's not instantaneous," Radich said of changing the district's policies and regulations. As a matter of fact, despite the change of language, patrons browsing the district's policies online may not see a change for a while, as the policies are in a library hosted by the OSBA and "we have to go through OSBA to actually change it," Radich said.
"It's great," Thatcher said of the change of administrative regulation. "I do appreciate the fact that they're making an attempt to make it right."
She said that there are probably other school districts in her house district, which also encompasses St. Paul and Keizer, that are out of compliance and that she would "definitely want to check with other school districts" to ensure they're not
