HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A date has been set to discuss how to address the increasing violence seen in public schools.
The Attorney General of Guam has issued an invitation to elected leaders and the community to engage in a roundtable discussion on the problem of Guam Department of Education students fighting and rioting.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan said he found it imperative to meet with the Guam Board of Education and GDOE Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson after the OAG received four police reports asking the Attorney General to criminally charge high school students who allegedly were involved in recent violence on school grounds.
“Our office received 4 police reports requesting magistrating of adult students for the crimes they were alleged to have committed because they were 18 years old or above. I discussed the criminal charges with my magistrating attorney, Assistant AG Renaida San Nicolas, as well as the nature of the evidence,” Moylan said in a Dec. 15 press release from his office.
Regarding the specific instance that occurred at John F. Kennedy High School, Moylan said he believes the increased violence is due in part to the campus being shared by two student populations, a possibility also acknowledged during an oversight hearing earlier this week by Sen. Chris Barnett, legislative chair on education.
With the likelihood of the JFK and Simon Sanchez High School students continuing to share the Tamuning campus next school year, the roundtable discussion is a means to finding an end to violent altercations like these, Moylan said in the release.
“We are interested in finding effective ways to stop it. This process is long and costing the taxpayers moneys that could be saved by our meeting and coming to agreements. Schools must remain safe, disciplined learning institutions, and cannot deteriorate to correctional facilities allowing and accepting violence to occur,” Moylan said.
The public roundtable discussion is set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the AG’s conference room in the ITC Building in Tamuning.
John F. Kennedy students cross Marine Corps Drive after school Jan. 18, 2023, in Tamuning.
