Effectiveness of martial arts program is not questioned, use of prop/weapons on school property is
The decision to not allow the Thunder Bay Martial Arts program to continue to conduct classes at Rogers City Elementary is one based on school policy that weapons, and that includes look-a-likes, are not allowed on school property, according to Rogers City Area Schools superintendent Ed Schultz. Instructor Dan Schackmann was told the Children?s Self Defense Classes at the elementary building could no longer continue after one of the instructors left behind a plastic gun during a Tuesday evening session in the gym. It was found the next day by a pair of fourth graders.
?What we have a problem with, is their philosophy of bringing weapons, whether they are look-a-likes or not, into the school, unbeknownst to the school officials,? said Schultz. ?It?s very clear in the policies that if they want to do that kind of stuff, they are supposed to ask permission ahead of time.?
THE SUPERINTENDENT is concerned about the safety of the students and the problems associated with finding a prop, especially as real as this one looked, he said. When it was brought to the office, three staff members could not tell if it was a gun or a plastic prop. ?They had no idea. It looked real,? said Schultz. ?(School resource officer) Matt Bisson happened to be in the building and walked into the office five minutes after the gun was delivered. He did take his own gun out and laid them down side-by-side, and the three women there, looked at it, and they could not tell the difference.?
Schultz said a tragedy could arise if a student finds a weapon and carries it with him or her in the building or on the playground. If the local police were asked to respond, Schultz said, the officer wouldn?t know if the weapon was real or not.
SINCE THE INCIDENT, reports were prepared by Bisson, elementary principal Deb Jones, and an opinion was sought from assistant prosecutor Gerald Gray. Schultz said, if school officials had known the program intended on using the props beforehand, the request to use the school facility probably still would have been denied. Schackmann said a mistake was made by an instructor and he has taken full responsibility for it. ?I do not doubt that finding the prop caused some angst, but there never was any danger, and it seems to me a reprimand, a fine, deleting props from the program,? Schackmann stated, ?or the condition that I personally supervise classes closer seem more appropriate punishments than permanent unforgivable exile.? Schackmann would like to sensitize and train children to identify when something, such as a weapon, doesn?t belong and then take the appropriate action.
?ACTION THAT might well prevent another Columbine-type event from getting off the ground,? Schackmann stated in a prepared statement. ?The program also focuses on raising children?s self esteem and confidence along with strong anti-bullying, anti-drug, and anti-alcohol messages. ?That is the purpose guiding our self defense program, to make students so aware of their surroundings, to able to spot danger coming that they effectively can avoid, or defuse it.?
Schackmann said the gun was found by a student who had been attending the classes and did the right thing of turning it over to an adult. ?We do not bring simulated weapons, rubber knives, plastic pistols, dummy bullets, toxic chemical containers, etc. onto school property lightly,? Schackmann said. The program has been successful in Alpena for many years and it had caught on to the point where parents of Rogers City childr
SCHOOL OFFICIALS granted the request to use the building and it had 74 students when it was shut down. ?We were a little reluctant to have it here, thinking that maybe kids would be kick boxing and karate chopping each other on the playground, and that?s not happening. They teach the kids respect for one another,? said Schultz. ?(The) program?s great. If they want to use these weapons, we really feel it should not be done in the school.? Schultz offered to assist the program in finding another location in Rogers City, but the program remains on hold.
There were two other issues brought up in the aftermath. In checking the files of the martial arts program at the school, which is a commercial enterprise, officials learned that fees for the second semester had not been paid and that an insurance certificate had expired. ?This is the problem when you rent to people from the outside,? Schultz said. ?It?s a courtesy. We understand they are tax-supported buildings, so we try our best to let the public use them. It just can?t be helter skelter. You have to have rules.? Schultz said his decision was supported by Rogers City police chief Matt Quaine.