Rome City Schools holds emergency board hearing after guns found at high school
Rome School Board holds emergency meeting after guns found at high school
Two separate gun discoveries made days apart have parents of Rome City Schools concerned the district is not doing enough to prevent potential violence. An emergency school board meeting was held Friday afternoon to address safety concerns. Both guns were confiscated from two separate students at Rome High School within the first week of classes.
ROME, Ga. - Parents of Rome City Schools have expressed concerns over the safety of their children after two guns were found on two students within the first week of classes at the high school.
The school board held an emergency meeting on Friday to address those concerns.
Rome High School is without a principal and the district has an interim superintendent, Dr. Dawn Williams - who told the concerned citizens one place to start improving safety is with how students dress.
"We are looking at jackets and hoodies being removed and carried into the building," Dr. Williams said.
She also said opened propped doors were not acceptable, and the district is considering buying anti-bullying software.
However, parents said the current culture at Rome City Schools allowed for this to happen, and they are concerned for the safety of the children. Parents complained about the lack of district leadership and how some parents received a text or an email or nothing at all about the weapons.
The board spoke of forming a safety committee involving parents, police, and administrators.
The district implemented a flexible learning day Friday, at the end of the where \Rome police said two stolen handguns were discovered at Rome High School on the possession of two 15-year-old sophomore boys. Police said a gun was found in a backpack by an administrator on Wednesday and a tip led to the discovery of the other gun on Thursday.
The assistant chief of the Rome Police Department said, in both cases, neither of the weapons were displayed to other students or used threateningly, adding that of both of the pistols were loaded when discovered.