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School Board Issues Apology System Lost Track of Student

Posted on: Thursday, 22 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By MARK F. BONNER

School Board issues apology *** System lost track of student

East Baton Rouge Parish school officials publicly apologized Thursday to the parents of a Howell Park Elementary kindergartner for losing track of him and failing to notify law enforcement.

The 5-year-old boy was found alone in a field Tuesday more than a mile and a half away from where he was dropped off by a school bus he wasnt supposed to be on.

The appropriate notification to the authorities, school security, the administration and the board did not take place in a timely manner, Superintendent Charlotte Placide said at a news conference Thursday.

Placide said the school system is modifying crisis plans to more explicitly describe the procedures for handling a crisis situation involving missing children.

Placide said that when classes were dismissed at 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, the boy boarded a bus headed for Victoria and Winbourne avenues instead of getting in line for carpool as he normally does.

About 3:40 p.m., workers at the Masons Academy Child Care Center on Greenwell Springs Road found the boy roaming in a field next to the day care, Placide said.

School officials and police do not know how the child wound up in the field, which is about 1.5 miles away from the spot he was dropped off.

Two phone calls were made to the Baton Rouge Police Department to report the missing child, a police report says.

One call was made by Chanelle Barnes, the mother of the missing child, and the other came from the day-care center.

Police spokesman Cpl. LJean McKneely said personnel from the school system did not call police. Police are investigating the incident, he said.

Disciplinary action against school personnel is pending the outcome of an investigation by the School Board, Placide said.

We want to extend our deepest apologies to the family for this unfortunate event, Placide said. It is always the responsibility of the district and our mission to provide a safe and secure environment at all times.

Barnes said the apology is too little, too late, adding that she might sue.

It is not about the money, she said. I just dont want to have to pick up my newspaper or turn on the TV and see another child go missing and for those parents to not be as lucky as I have been. A child could die because of something like this.

Barnes said she picks up her two children from the Winbourne Avenue school every day. But Tuesday as she pulled her car up, her oldest son said, He could not find his baby brother.

She said she went to the principals office, which got on the intercom to call for the missing child. But a few minutes later, after the boy remained missing, Barnes dialed 911.

Placide said administrators scoured the campus looking for the boy as soon as they were told he was missing. But the superintendent added she is not sure why teachers did not realize he was missing sooner.

Fifteen minutes after she dialed 911, Barnes said, police called to say her son had been found at the day-care center.

They wanted to know why the school had not called, Barnes said. I reported back to the school, proceeded to ask questions, and they were not answered. To this day they cannot tell me how he got to that location.

Barnes said she is keeping her son out of classes indefinitely because school officials cannot answer her questions about the incident.

How did my son get off the school premises undetected? Barnes said. What plan do you have if this happens again? Who was he in the company with while he was missing? What can you show me that my child will be safe if he comes back? Nobody is able to answer.

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

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