SPS lazy, apathetic

Spokane Public Schools keeps hiring security personnel without conducting proper background checks. In January of this year a resource officer at Ferris allegedly assaulted a black student by jamming his knee into the student’s neck. Turns out the officer was already named in three civil suits (one allegedly involving a death from a chokehold), which could easily have been discovered through a rudimentary background check. Excuses by the district spokesman were feeble at best. The Spokesman-Review followed up this debacle with extensive coverage and suggestions for change, but the school district wasn’t listening.

Now the district has repeated its negligence, endangering our kids once again. The newly hired school security chief just quit after an anonymous tip revealed a disturbing history of allegations involving domestic violence and sexual misconduct. Spokane Public Schools again admits it did not conduct a background check of civil suits, which would’ve easily revealed the risks in hiring this candidate.

But the district spokesman once again seems rather bored with all of this, stating that “if” changes are needed in the hiring process, it “could” include checking into civil suits against future candidates. As the grandparent of a district second-grader, I am not reassured. The school district’s laziness and apathy are stupefying.

Douglas A. Boe

Spokane