The Riverview School Board was a forum for various public voices Monday night.
The board’s agenda meeting served in part as a place for residents to express frustration following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest in Oakmont on Thursday.
Jose Flores, 47, was detained by ICE agents the morning of Jan. 29 after being approached by two agents in front of his Oakmont home while preparing to take his daughter, Lily, to school. She is an elementary school student in Riverview.
As of Monday, Flores — originally from Nicaragua — was being held in Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE’s detainee locator. His wife, Hariett, also from Nicaragua, said they are both in the legal asylum process and have five-year work visas.
Following the incident, the school board presented a policy outlining the actions to be taken by staff and teachers if there happens to be a time a law enforcement agency comes to a district building inquiring about a specific student or staff member.
“I think that (incident) really shook the core of our community as a whole, but also as our district, because, you know, we may not have thought that that was possible in Oakmont,” said school board President Anthony Paris. “I think we continue to learn that anything as possible.”
Paris said the policy establishes steps for staff and teachers to take that adheres to laws while protecting those within the district as much as possible. Paris said the board wants everyone in the district to feel cared for.
“The policy is not meant to perturb law enforcement agents,” Paris said.
One guideline the policy states is that student and staff information will not be given out without the presentation of a judicial warrant.
Superintendent Neil English said staff and teachers have already been trained and have extremely detailed plans in place if an incident were to occur.
Board member Bridget Seery compared the level of practice and training staff has been through for a potential incident to active-shooter training.
“I want everyone know ahead of time,” she said. “I do not want anyone to be in a situation where they have to react and make a decision after the fact. It’s not fair to our staff and our administration to be in that scenario where they have to make those decisions.”
Residents spoke in support for the policy.
Richard Williams, an Oakmont resident for 73 years, thanked the board and the rest of the district for their efforts during this time.
Oakmont resident Stephanie Grimes said the board members were “meeting the moment they were elected to meet.”
“Dr. English, you finish every communication that we get out there as parents in the district, ‘may we continue to be happy, peaceful and safe.’ To see that not just be words and you guys working toward that, is something that I just wanted to cheer,” Grimes said.
Oakmont resident Jamie Leonardi said while she supported the proposed policy, she was disappointed the district did not release a statement acknowledging the Jan. 29 incident.
“I’ve heard from dozens very concerned, community members. I talk to parents crying on the phone. There is a real sense of fear and concern about protecting our students and staff,” Leonardi said. “So absolutely, both adopting these policies and publicizing that commitment to students’ rights and students’ safety would do very valuable, I thank you.”
Paris said the lack of public statement was an effort to maintain the family’s privacy.
“I know that the administration does not take lightly these actions and they also, you know, are adamantly against them, I also know that they are adamantly working behind the scenes, tirelessly with this to respect (the family’s) wishes and to not make a statement, I think, was the right thing to do,” Paris said.
Board member Jennifer Chaparro said the location of an incident can also play a factor in what the district comments on.
“Also from a communications standpoint, this is not an event that occurred on our property, so you have to remember that if it was something that occurred in someone’s driveway at their home, that’s not for us to speak about their, what happened in their driveway,” Chaparro said.
Her words did not necessarily reflect the board’s opinion as a whole.
“While I understand what you’re saying and where you’re coming from, I also think that there are issues that transcend beyond your driveway,” Paris said.
The board will vote on the policy at the Feb. 9 meeting.