OXFORD, Mich. — Parents of Oxford High School students and one survivor of the Nov. 30 mass shooting made emotional pleas Thursday for improved safety measures inside the school.
Two parents accused school officials of failing to create new policies and procedures to make their children feel safe and said they were also angry that Oxford Community Schools hasn't hired a company to perform a third-party review of the rampage that left four students dead and seven others wounded more than four months ago.
Lori Bourgeau, a parent of an Oxford High School student and organizer of the Parents of Oxford group, said a lack of action by the district and school board sends the message that school officials are more interested in protecting themselves than students.
"The school needs to do an investigation. They promised one in December and again in January and they started changing their tune. They blamed the prosecutor for not doing it," Bourgeau said. "You can't fix a problem if you don’t know what is broken. By not doing an investigation they are not looking at what broke down in the chain."
Bourgeau said members of her parents' group have sent hundreds of emails, made repeated calls and other communication attempts with district administrators and the Board of Education, only to be ignored and have their questions unanswered.
Oxford Community Schools did not immediately respond to a message left by The Detroit News.
In December the Oakland County district declined an offer from Attorney General Dana Nessel to conduct a review of the shooting. Nessel is hosting a community forum for Oxford parents, students and family members Monday. The event is not open to the media.
"The attorney general looks forward to hearing directly from community members when she visits Oxford next week and takes their concerns seriously," Nessel spokesperson Lynsey Mukomel said.
Mukomel said members of the media were excluded "to ensure the comfort of attendees," and that Nessel would consider additional dates in Oxford if community interest exceeded the capacity for the event.
Oxford school board President Tom Donnelly said a subcommittee of the school board is in the process of vetting potential companies to do the review.
"As we have more information gathered, an update will be given to our community in an upcoming school board meeting,” Donnelly said in an email to the News.
Parents are also asking for a public review of the district's current student safety plan and want full community input into an updated school safety plan for the 2022-23 school year that reassures students, helps end learning loss and fully addresses mental health issues.
On Thursday, at the American Legion in Oxford, Oxford High School junior Griffen Jones said he wants to see metal detectors at the high school as a sign that school officials are taking security seriously. Clear backpacks and checking IDs have done nothing to make students feel safer, he said.
“I feel Oxford has failed to keep the student body safe," Griffen said. "They have failed to show they care about us as people and individuals. They have added almost nothing since we came back. Every day I pray that whatever conversation I have with my friends isn’t my last. Every day I pray I won’t die on the high school floor because of the lack of caring.”
Griffen’s father, Jeff Jones, said students from Oxford High need to feel safe in school and they do not. He wants the school board to move forward on an independent review of the incident and update a school safety plan and code of conduct, saying the students “need hope” that next year will be different.
“The sheer panic on a daily basis there — a lot of kids don’t make it a full day or week. They don’t eat in the cafeteria and they won’t use the bathroom,” Jones said. “The school needs to update its security plan so students feel safe in school.”
Parent Mike Aldred became emotional during his plea to Oxford school officials for more security measures and open communication with students and families.
“Too many Oxford students are struggling with learning due to continued worries about safety procedures in Oxford schools, leading to learning loss and unaddressed mental health issues,” Aldred said.
Notices from school officials about new threats, rumors or investigations lack detail, Aldred said.
“No one knows if Oxford's safety procedures are proper and what updates are required so that day can never happen for us or other schools across the country. ... Things must change before the new (school) year,” Aldred said.
Ken Weaver, Oxford's superintendent, said the district has received advice from five school districts that have experienced similar trauma, guidance from mental health experts who specialize in addressing trauma and feedback from the community.
Recent threats deemed noncredible by police also have many Oxford families, students and community members on edge. Oxford Community Schools was among multiple school districts in northern Oakland County that received threatening phone calls.
The district did not go into lockdown, which was a decision challenged on social media by some parents. Lake Orion did lockdown and Clarkston sheltered students and staff in place.
"We do not want to put students and staff through any unnecessary psychological trauma by going into a lockdown when it is not warranted, therefore, particular consideration was taken when making the decision whether to lockdown or not," Weaver said in a statement to families.
Bourgeau said she doesn't know whether what Oxford school officials did was right or not, but she has a lack of trust and faith in their leadership.
"Not locking down may have been the right thing. I don’t trust our board or district and I don’t think they are equipped to make the right choices," she said. "I don’t have the faith that they have enough knowledge in what we are going through to ensure our kids are safe."
On Nov. 30, four Oxford High School students were killed in the shooting: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six students and a teacher were wounded.
The school had about 1,650 students in classes on the day of the shooting with about 100 teachers and staff, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
In March, the district announced it would create a three-year recovery plan and hire a recovery coordinator and an executive director of student services and wellness to address student mental health needs.
The new positions are to ensure students get the support and care needed to heal, school officials have said. The district is also adding two counseling positions to the high school and two family-school liaisons who will work with students to improve social and emotional behavior at the elementary school.
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