Baltimore County police arrested a student of the George Washington Carver Center for the Arts in Towson last week, charging him as an adult in connection with a plot to set off explosives at the school and kill his parents as well as teachers and other students, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Charged was Sash Alexander Nemphos, 16, of Monkton, Md. Charging documents cited by the Sun show that he took a stolen handgun to school on Halloween but was too drunk to execute his plan to use it. He also forgot to bring some homemade bombs to the school, charging documents said. Some explosives and a journal were reportedly discovered in his bedroom.
In talking with police, the accused said he had been bullied by other students at the school for several years but, upon telling school officials about the bullying, found them unresponsive to his complaints.
To enhance security in the schools, Baltimore County school leaders have purchased new photo ID cards for students, known as “One Cards.” The One Card is part of Superintendent Dallas Dance’s enhanced school security measures, here, and is issued to students in grades 1–12 pursuant to board policy 3710:
The Board of Education of Baltimore County (Board) is committed to providing a safe and secure environment in all Baltimore County Public Schools’ (BCPS) offices and schools. As part of this goal, the Board supports the use of safety and security equipment as one means of providing protection against security threats.
We think what’s needed is not a dog tag for students to wear—or the associated expenditures—but rather an increased responsiveness on the part of school staff to real threats, such as those posed by bullying and mental illness.
Write a proposal for how the $5 million spent on the One Cards might have been better spent to improve security in the schools. See Common Core English language arts writing standard WHST.11-12.1.A for more information. Resources:
