RIFLE, Colo. — Approximately 20 people - students, parents and Re-2 faculty - spoke at the Garfield School District Re-2 meeting on March 20 at Wamsley Elementary school in Rifle, all in agreement that the community needs to support the school district and its staff. However, the majority of the audience that night was Anglo, and none of the students who spoke were Hispanic.

Community members and Rifle High School students voiced their opinions that night to show support for the school district after the previous school board meeting brought up concerns about school policies and safety issues.

The RHS student body is approximately 14 percent Hispanic, according to data compiled by Colorado School Tree's Web site, schooltree.org. Re-2 Superintendent Gary Pack said he hasn't personally received any input, in writing or at the school board meetings, from any Hispanic students or parents regarding this particular incident.

"There hasn't been a lot of representation there, but we don't keep track of the calls here in that fashion," Pack said.

Pack indicated that several people at the district's office could field incoming calls that he is unaware of, and that he could only comment on the calls that he's received personally. But with the outside agencies like Interwest Equity Assistance Center and the Department of Justice's public relations department doing community assessments of Rifle, Pack hopes that this will encourage more of the Hispanic population to voice their opinions.

"The community has to come together to try and figure these things out," Pack said. "With the outside agencies getting involved we are hoping that more of the Hispanic community will feel that they are able to get involved."

But Modesta Garcia of Rifle said that she felt like her voice wasn't heard in the past regarding a fight involving her brother, Ruben Medrano, while he was student at RHS. Garcia has two brothers that currently attend RHS, and another sister who no longer attends.

During the 2005-06 school year a fight between Medrano and another student prompted similar concerns that apparently still haven't been addressed, in Garcia's opinion.

"My brother was allowed to come home after the fight, and we had to take him to the hospital," Modesta said.

This past incident strikes a familiar chord to another former RHS student. Caitlin Carr is now finishing her high school education at home because a rumor about a school shooting, after the Medrano fight, prompted her to leave the school.

"I told my mom that day that I didn't want to go back to school," she said. "It reminded me of Columbine; those things happen all the time."

She remembers the fight that involved Medrano.

"It was pretty bad. I could see a lot of racial tension in the school," Carr said. "A lot of people don't mention it because they don't want to admit that there is a problem."

Carr said that she wasn't surprised to hear about the recent fight between the two girls at RHS.

The school district is currently taking several measures to address the concerns raised from the incident.

Before the March 6 school board meeting, Re-2 had completed a school safety audit and is expecting the results very soon. The community relations wing of the Department of Justice began its assessment of the community, including entities like the hospital and the police and fire departments, as well as the school district, to determine what community issues are currently present and how to address them better.

Next, the district contacted the Interest Equity to help determine a course of action to educate the students, faculty and administrators on how to better understand the growing diversity in the community.



Contact John Gardner: 945-8515, ext. 16604

jgardner@postindependent.com



Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO