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The fight happened at John Harris High School on Sept. 13, PennLive reports citing the Harrisburg police. But the parents and guardians were only sent the letter about the fight, after a video surfaced on social media on Tuesday, Sept. 27, prompting the Harrisburg School District superintendent Eric Turman to release a letter the following day.
In the statement, Turman says,
"Acts of violence and/or inappropriate behavior simply will not be tolerated on school property. The Harrisburg School District will impose the most serious disciplinary actions possible under our student code of conduct and discipline code."
Suspension or even expulsion of students was mentioned in the letter as a possibility but no such consequences have been announced as of Thursday afternoon.
The Harrisburg School District, Mayor Wanda Williams, and the Harrisburg Bureau of Police have to "establish a partnership for additional support," Turman states in the letter.
A partnership was agreed to and officers will be conducting ongoing wellness checks at the John Harris campus. Additional police presence is available for any school within the district which requests or requires extra safety for the benefit of the students’ ability to learn, according to Commissioner Carter.
“The incident that happened this week [at John Harris High School] was unconscionable,” Carter added. “The students need to have a safe and community-driven learning environment in order for them to thrive.”
Along with the increased police presence at the school, the Harrisburg police has offered to work with school district security staff on how to properly deal with incidents like the one which occurred on Tuesday.
The City of Harrisburg’s decision to be involved in school district security measures comes from Mayor Wanda R.D. Williams’ "desire to give all children in the city an equal opportunity to get a quality education," as stated in a release by the city.
“I’m committed to helping the district in any way I can so that the kids can receive the education they deserve,” Mayor Williams said.
Mayor Williams served on the Harrisburg School District School Board as its President from 1998-2002.
Additional information was unable as of Thursday afternoon. Follow Daily Voice for updates.
Click here to read the full letter posted by the school district.
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