My 8-year-old son goes to El Roble school. We have had two
incidents this year of hitting and choking, and one other child
teases my son then tries to bite him.
“My 8-year-old son goes to El Roble school. We have had two incidents this year of hitting and choking, and one other child teases my son then tries to bite him. The Principal, Leigh Schwartz, does not call me back and has not questioned the children. He basically did nothing. Then when they had their field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, my son was punched by a very disruptive child.
“The other boy just punched him for no reason. The whole thing was witnessed by an adult. The next day, the chaperone talked to the principal and he just brushed the whole thing off. He once again did nothing. So I was finally sick of it and I made a formal complaint with the district office. Not much was done with that as well. No detention, suspension or expulsion.”
Red Phone: Dear Biting Mad, It sounds like you and your child are in a tough situation. Some kids can often be quite disruptive even if not provoked.
Schwartz has the unenviable task of trying to keep students in line, but says he is open to people’s concerns.
“I can say that student safety is our highest priority.” Schwartz said. “Each case is considered on it’s own merits as there are many factors that determine how a specific incident is handled. The rights of student’s to confidentiality limit information so not all parties will know what is done to address the behavior. It is my responsibility as the principal of the school to weigh all factors to address the needs and safety of our students and I will continue to do so. Parents are always free to come and see me or speak with me about any situation as my door is always open.”
You have heard it, dear caller; Schwartz is willing to meet. And if you find his door closed, give us another ring.
Property needs some care
“Driving up and down 10th Street, seems like an awful shame that the gentleman that owns the piece of property where the old Nob Hill warehouse and the old Indian Motorcycle factory was can’t seem to cut those weeds. It’s a terrible mess. I’d think he could bring some of his gardeners from San Juan Oaks Golf Course that he owns over and clean up that mess. It would be appreciated and it sure would look a lot nicer. Thank you.”
Red Phone: Dear Mr. Clean, It looks like we have a classic case of blight. But hopefully it will be cleaned up soon.
“We have received a complaint about this site and have contacted them to have the overgrowth of weeds removed,” said Gilroy Code Code Enforcement Officer Scott Barron. “According to Gilroy Municipal Code Section 5B.2, the definition of blighted property is fairly clear – that failure to adequately maintain your commercial or industrial property with regard to overgrown weeds or vegetation is a violation of the blight ordinance.”
If someone observes a violation such as this, contact Code Enforcement at 846-0264. If the property still does not get cleaned up, let the Red Phone know.
Only 7 tickets for graduation?
“Hi, I just got a call from my niece stating that Gilroy High School is only allowing seven tickets per family for graduation. Is that true? I’m going to call the high school too to find out if that’s true. But I was looking in the paper and didn’t see anything. Thanks.”
Red Phone: Dear Extended Extended Family, that is indeed true. If you have a large family, you are in trouble. There are about 500 graduates this year. If we do the math real quick, we can see that that potentially there could be 3,500 family and friends of graduates attending.
“We are keeping some tickets in reserve for families who need more tickets for families,” said Gilroy High Principal Jim Maxwell. “However for safety we can no longer be open to the whole community.”
