Student, staff safety remains top priority, Stamps says

Student and staff safety remains a top priority at Daleville City Schools.

That is the message that Daleville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Lisa Stamps hopes has been made very clear.

One person pleaded guilty in Dale County District Court April 20 and another awaits trial in May in Level Plains Municipal Court in connection with separate incidents involving unauthorized people charged with trespassing on Daleville City School’s buses.

At the Daleville Board of Education meeting April 20 Stamps asked Daleville City Schools Attorney James Tarbox to provide an update on one incident that occurred in Level Plains and one that occurred in the unincorporated area of Dale County, off of Rucker Boulevard. Both incidents resulted in people having criminal charges pressed against them under the Charles Poland Act, Tarbox said.

Unlawfully entering or interfering with a school bus in the state of Alabama became a violation of the law in 2013 after then-Gov. Robert Bentley signed a measure named after Midland City Bus Driver Charles “Chuck” Poland who was shot and killed by a gunman who boarded his school bus and demanded that Poland hand over two students.

The Dale County Schools bus driver was shot and killed in January 2013 by Jimmy Lee Dykes who boarded his bus and demanded two students. Before being shot, Poland negotiated with Dykes and blocked his path, enabling 21 children to escape through the emergency exit. After killing Poland, Dykes abducted a 5-year-old boy with autism and held him hostage in an underground bunker for nearly a week before FBI agents burst in, killed him and rescued the boy.

Under the Charles Poland Law, the crime of trespass in the first degree includes intentionally stopping, impeding, delaying or detaining any school bus from being operated for public school purposes “with the intent to commit a crime.” The law makes trespassing on a school bus a Class-A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.

Tarbox said that after discussion with Thirty-third Judicial Circuit District Attorney Kirke Adams’s office, the woman charged by the Dale County Schools decided to accept a guilty plea. “She received a six month suspended sentence, a year of unsupervised probation and will have to pay a fine and all court costs,” he said. “That person, when arrested, ended up spending over 24 hours in Dale County Jail before she could bond out.

“In speaking with the assistant district attorney who handled that case, I think it’s clear that the message was clear that this school system, and any other school system, will not tolerate parents or others interfering with a bus route, making entry onto a bus that’s not authorized or invited,” Tarbox said. “And I think it’s clear that our system is serious when something does happen.

“I am happy to report that this woman does have a conviction for a Class A misdemeanor on her record,” he added. “If for some reason in the next year she gets in trouble, she’s going to be looking at a six-month sentence in the Dale County Jail due to her actions in this incident.”

Tarbox said the woman charged in a separate DCS school bus incident in December 2021 is free on bond pending a hearing in Level Plains Municipal Court in May.

Following the school bus incidents, Stamps sent a message to all parents reiterating the school system’s stance on maintaining a “safe environment for our students.”

“Your child’s safety and wellness has been and continues to be our first and foremost priority,” Stamps said in the memo. “I want to stress that parent and community members must present themselves in a positive manner and demonstrate a positive example on our campuses, at sporting events and in the vicinity of buses. As schools are facing more and more safety issues, our administration has met to tighten our security procedures.”

In the memo, Stamps quoted a message from State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey to school superintendents that reiterated the importance of school safety. “Recently, there have been instances of threats made to schools as well as weapons recovered by law enforcement on campuses,” Mackey said in his message. “Fortunately, through the swift actions by educators, administrators, law enforcement and parents, these incidents have been resolved without violence.” Mackey stressed the importance of remaining “diligent, periodically reviewing procedures outlined in your school safety plan and making adjustments as needed.

Stamps echoed that sentiment. “Please stress to your children the importance of following school guidelines and to avoid bringing anything to school that is prohibited,” she said. “Please report any inappropriate behavior to your child’s school or to my office.

“We will take serious measures if we have aggressive or threatening behaviors from students or adults,” Stamps added. “As your child’s advocate, I desire that your child has the safest environment in which to learn at the Daleville City Schools.”

Tarbox said he will report to the board what happens with the pending case, which will be heard in Level Plains Municipal Court. “Hopefully we’ll never have to deal with something like this again but if something does happen I think the message sent has been clear our administration is going to seek criminal prosecution for those who violate this law putting the students and staff at risk,” he said.

The next meeting of the Daleville Board of Education is May 18 at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room at the school central office. The meeting is open to the public.