RSSAnti-gang efforts in schools need funding, task force told
Yakima Herald-Republic
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YAKIMA -- Those involved in the fight against youth gangs in Yakima Valley schools know they must offer current and prospective gang members a better option -- help with school, more parent involvement, incentives to avoid the street life.
But everything costs money. Schools, law enforcement agencies and other organizations need cash in order to implement many of the best programs that will target the gang problem, a series of speakers told a state panel in Yakima on Tuesday.
"Without the money to provide services in schools, it's not going to work," John Cerna, assistant schools superintendent in Toppenish, told the Gangs in Schools Task Force.
Successful anti-gang efforts in Toppenish, for example, have suffered from the loss of grants over the past several years, Cerna told the task force, which was created as the result of a bill approved by state lawmakers in 2007.
The bill's focus on schools is more narrowly drawn than that of another legislative task force that studied the statewide gang problem in general. That separate task force's efforts led to a law passed this year that allows judges to increase sentences for crimes found to be gang-related, helps local jurisdictions with graffiti removal and makes it a crime for an adult gang member to recruit juveniles to commit crimes, among other key points.
Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, a co-sponsor of the gang law, attended Tuesday night's session with Rep. Dan. NeHwhouse, R-Sunnyside, and state Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.
The schools task force held its first meeting in November, and the legislation requires five meetings a year around the state to keep track of the current gang threat, the best ways to deal with the problem and costs associated with prevention and intervention methods.
The Yakima meeting attracted about 85 teachers, school admin-istrators, parents and law enforce-ment officials to Davis High School on Tuesday evening.
Their comments will be included in an annual report that the task force will present to the Legislature.
Many of the speakers focused on the need for funding to support programs that will offer alternatives for gang members.
Chris Martinez, a former Union Gap police officer who now works on anti-gang issues for the Prosser School District, said the district is trying to develop programs in the schools so that students won't have to look to gangs for something to do. That includes a regular parent night, he said.
But funding remains an issue.
"We're doing everything that we can, and we're just as strapped as any other district," Martinez said.
* Mark Morey can be reached at 577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct erroneous information that appeared in the originally published version.
MORE ON THE WEB
Tuesday's meeting of theGangs in Schools Task Force will be televised at 8:30 p.m. Monday and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on the state's public affairs network, TVW. That's channel 14 on Charter cable service and channel 37 on Rapid Cable.For more information on the task force, visit www.k12.wa.us/ safetycenter/.
