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I have a question that some of you may know the answer. I have heard that administrative staff & teachers were used to fill in for the missing security guards. When the school does this, are these people relieved of the work they normally do so that they CAN fill in for the security guards, or do they still have their normal work? If they are relieved of their work, who is substituting for them? If they are not doing the work that the security officers do (at the University they are walking the grounds, inspecting areas & beingan open visible presence) then shouldn't the administration have substitute guards. If the staff that was used to fill in are not relieved of their normal work, then the school was left unguarded, right?
This has left me wondering since I first read the account, and I have not found out the answer.
Aloha, Carey
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Why were there no security guards? Has it been revealed? Were they on strike? or have a walkout? What the kid did was criminal. Are criminal charges pending? Is he getting a slap on the wrist like those girl cheerleaders on the mainland?
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According to the initial published newspaper reports, the reason for the absence of the security force was described by the principal as a "personnel matter" that could not be publicly discussed. That could be something as benign as they were all sick (rather unlikely statistically) or something as serious as being on suspension. In any case, it makes it convenient for the principal not to have to deal with one more important part of the issue.
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The Hilo paper is culpable in neglecting to investigate and report the reason the guards were absent. If they were on suspension or on strike, the taxpayers should know it, the parents of the students who go to that school should know it. Privacy concerns for county employees are different from privacy concerns in the private sector. It's interesting that the local tabloid hasn't reported more also.
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this "Kill Haole Day" has to be a phenomenon from other islands, because I am 1/2 haole and went to public school in Hilo all of my life, hung out with haole kids when I was in school, and had never, not once, heard of such a thing. It is disturbing to read about such a "holiday" on HI-based forums, when I know I cannot be the only person wondering "where the heck was I when this b.s. was going down?"
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...just weighing in as another mother outraged at the situation of this poor boy and the state of things at KHS. What really bothers me is how *fantastic* the facilities are at Keaau HS! Those kids are so blessed, so lucky! All the potential exists for it; there should be lots of things to do on campus, as well as being located in the sleepy haven of Keaau town, where one can safely walk in, with good neighborhoods right nearby, shopping (ok, we all want it to step up in that regard, helllloooo a damned bar and pawn shop ACROSS THE STREET OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL!), but still...
kids should be able to grow up and have fond memories of growing up in a sleepy town and being able to walk here/there. Their opportunity for nostalgia is being ripped out from under them because of some people's children.
Further, I confess to catching myself wondering about these many "rotten apples"...did their mothers hit the ice pipe when pg with them? Are they fetal-alcohol exposed? Thinking about it, this is the age for many of those kids who were exposed as babies, prior to the widespread (but too late) anti-ice campaigns. The original footholds that created drug-exposed babies are now finding those babies are teenagers, and their withered coping skills has resulted in a pool of angry young adults.
How do we help them?
How do we save ourselves from them if they cannot be helped?
The question makes me very sad.
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The boy injured is a the son of a friend of mine. I don't think they have resolved the legal issue yet.
The absence of the guards is said to be an internal fight between the haole and non-haole members of the guard staff. Great example of hiring the right guys for the job huh?
The administration at Keaau high is a laughing stock in the conversations of the actual teaching staff there. I had breakfast with one of those teachers just the other day and it was a big part of the discussion. Keaau high school needs shared governance instead of what it has.
It is all so sad.
The good news is that Vincent's face (the injured boy) is looking good. He talked with me and just says he is doing fine. However, dad indicated he is being kept home from school.
This is about the only incident that has occurred here since my arrival three years ago that makes me want to NOT be here. It just breaks my heart. If I had kids, they would be going to that school. I am not sure what my action would be but I seriously doubt I would be quiet about it whether pullig my child/children out of school or joining in a lawsuit or even petitioning for an administrative change.
I feel from my heart for the parents who have to deal with this.
Pam
Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!
I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says
"Oh Crap, She's up!"
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We live near the Keaau Schools, and have noticed a wide variety of nice neighborhood kids walking to the schools. We moved from an area where the school districts were even more ble$$ed than those here ($9-$12,000 per student), in a town that had a much higher per capita income, and yet some kids still acted out, beating up others, burning down classrooms, shooting out windows. None of this was racially motivated (this was a more monochromatic area), and most of the kids caught came from some of the higher income homes. The problems that effected these kids ran the gammit, but like here, they were mostly ignored until the kids had acted out in the worst ways. It is too bad that we are all too busy to stop & talk to our neighbor kids, get to know their interests, let them know that other adults care about them. I know that some of my fondest memories from childhood were spent getting to know the older neighbors in my neighborhood. Today, it is often scary to get involved with kids. That is too bad for all of us. But there are many oppurtunities to mentor iin all of our schools. How great it would be if a community of people showed their interest in the safety of these kids.
Aloha, Carey
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I like to think that if I lived in Puna, I would be all over this, and we would band together to tell the school this is unacceptable. I think the school definetely has some liability exposure here. They were supposed to have guards, but even the guards were fighting (at least on a bureaucratic level). As a consequence, the minor was injured. The perpetrators may have exploited this weakness. Did someone say this fight was racially motivated? If so, I would be highly motivated to insist that KHS be called to answer for this.
I do hate to see mainland values transmitted to Hawaii, and that is probably exactly what happens. Television is the demon.
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quote:
Did someone say this fight was racially motivated?
Noone said the fight was racially motivated. Somone just mentioned "kill haole day". I grew up in Hilo and I swear that I never heard of this day like sheerah. I think this was only on Oahu. I went to college there and I noticed the local people are WAY more racist there both to outsiders and among themselves.
quote:
I do hate to see mainland values transmitted to Hawaii, and that is probably exactly what happens. Television is the demon.
You've got this all wrong. It's been this way from way back. When I was going to high school in 80s, I remember a student fired a .357 magnum at school and nothing happened to him. Of course this was after school and there was hardly anyone around.
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