Southern Maryland legislators and St. Mary’s County Public Schools officials sat down to breakfast at the Forrest Center yesterday, Thursday December 14. It was a planned breakfast to discuss issues for the coming year. Yet, despite the festive gingerbread houses adorning the tables, the mood was less than festive as the first item of discussion was a stabbing that occurred at Great Mills High School less than 24 hours earlier.

“I hope you take it very, very seriously, because the community out there does,” cautioned Senator Roy Dyson, who is now the vice chair for Maryland’s Education, Health and Environment Committee, of the stabbing on Wednesday.

Senator Roy Dyson (center) The Bay Net Photo by Anna Bedford

“We are taking it very seriously,” assured Superintendent Martirano. “We are not a school system in crisis,” said Martirano. “We are not a jurisdiction – as the tri-county region - in crisis,” he asserted. “But we have to react and be responsive.” Martirano pointed to broader community-based problems that inevitably spill over into the schools. “We’re all in this together,” he said Thursday. “It’s not just a school issue."

Dyson pointed to the response to a recent lock-down at Leonardtown High School and concerns by parents and community members about a lack of communication. “The Bay Net was the only source for information [on the situation],” Dyson commented after the meeting. “The parents wanted a meeting,” said Dyson.

“We did hold a meeting immediately after the Leonardtown High School crisis,” assured School Board member Cathy Allen. “We now have the reverse phone system so parents can know what’s going on,” Allen added. She advocated working closely with MABE (Maryland Association of Boards of Education), for which she was recently elected secretary. “MABE needs to decide what should happen [in response to school violence],” commented Allen. “It needs to be a collaborative approach.”

“It has a lot to do with the home, and parents not doing their job,” commented Delegate Johnny Wood. “I raised nine kids,” he added. “Punishing these kids by expelling them or sending them home is not the right response because that’s what they want,” said Wood. “I don’t know what the answer is but I know we have to do something,” he advised. “We have to go back to the basics. I’m sure everyone in this room has heard it: ‘My kid wouldn’t do that!’ – I know what I did when I was a kid, and I did everything I could get away with,” stated Wood.

Superintendent Michael Martirano The Bay Net Photo by Anna Bedford

“We used the telephone system, since there was not time to send a letter,” responded Martirano. “It was a non-disruptive event during the school day,” the superintendent added, pointing to a basketball game and community musical event that continued as scheduled in the evening.

Delegate Bohanan asked if the stabbing was a one-on-one conflict, but Martirano dodged his question, partly for legal confidentiality reasons since it involved two minors. “It’s being treated as an isolated incident, but the investigation is continuing,” said Martirano. “Our best defense is information.

“We’re looking for ties and community associations, and looking at all of that, but it’s all so fresh – not even 24 hours old yet,” he continued.

“It takes a village – it takes all of us,” said Gary Kessler, another School Board member. “Our numbers [of incidents and arrests at school] are up, but it’s not because violence is out of control in our schools, it’s because we’re taking a proactive approach.”

“The school system does a lot of things before the fact to address violence and safety in our schools,” said Board member Mary Washington. Those measures include “Second Steps” in secondary schools, where students are identified as in need of assistance and brought into group sessions each week. At the younger level at-risk students would be met with daily. In addition every school has an emergency plan and performs fire drills, evacuation, weather and lock-down drills throughout the year, it was stressed. Counselors with Walden Sierra already spend time with students who might have drug, alcohol or other problems, and there is an “invaluable” partnership with the sheriff’s office, attendees were assured at Thursday’s breakfast.

There is no news yet as to the motivation for Wednesday’s stabbing or the details surrounding it. Superintendent Martirano left the breakfast yesterday and headed to Great Mills High School to quietly walk through its halls and meet with the principal.

See the videos above and below to view some comments from the breakfast.