Students expelled from Costa Mesa High

Deirdre Newman

COSTA MESA -- Three students have been expelled from Costa Mesa High

School for possessing weapons.

School officials were alerted to the weapons by other students in late

February and took action to halt a major fight that was brewing.

“Typically the students are our best source of information,” said

Jaime Castellanos, assistant superintendent of secondary education for

the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

Officials first heard about the presence of the weapons the day after

another off-campus fight involving three to five students during the week

of Feb. 25, Castellanos said.

Locker searches turned up a sawed-off bat, a chain and a pocket knife.

Three students confessed to possessing the weapons and were immediately

expelled.

The district’s zero-tolerance policy -- which has been the focus of

much debate, including last fall when the board added an

anti-intimidation and anti-bullying clause -- includes a no-weapons

clause and is part of the state education code. The district’s policy

states that “possession of a knife, explosive or other dangerous object

of no reasonable use to the student is grounds for expulsion.”

School board members were quick to say the decision to remove the

students was the right one.

“We intend to keep our campuses safe and will do everything in our

power to ensure that happens,” said Trustee Jim Ferryman, who has

questioned parts of the policy in recent years.

No charges have been filed against the students.

The weapons threat comes after a quiet year at Costa Mesa High

following a bomb threat incident last April that scared many parents

enough to keep their children out of a school for a day.

The bomb threat, which was scribbled on the wall inside a girls

restroom, prompted Newport-Mesa school officials to beef up security on

the campus to deal with the threat.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .