Parents of Kingsley Elementary school students expressed concerns about the quality of employee background checks after a Kingsley janitor was arrested Thursday night and charged with placing a gun in the girls’ bathroom Jan. 4.
“It was a big shock and probably the worst-case scenario,” said Laura Swinand, whose child attends Kingsley, 2300 Green Bay Rd. “It really brings home that there need to be changes. It’s a problem that needs to be attended to.”
Although school employees and parents were relieved the origin of the gun had been discovered, they said their fears were confirmed after learning that an employee at the school told police that he was the owner of the weapon. Charles Scott, 72, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon.
Scott had worked for Evanston/Skokie School District 65 for 29 years. In November of 2004, he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. Scott is scheduled to appear Feb. 14 at Circuit Court in Skokie.
“I’m sorry to learn that it is true,” said Mary Rita Lueke, a District 65 school board member. “(It’s frightening) that an employee can carry a gun in a school and potentially endanger children’s lives.”
Scott is not the first District 65 janitor to be arrested and charged with illegal activities inside a school. Another janitor was arrested on charges of selling crack and powder cocaine on school property at Lincolnwood Elementary School, 2600 Colfax St., in October.
Jan Roy, the District 65 communication director, said the district is still working to create a safer and more efficient crisis-management plan. While she does not deal directly with background checks and hiring of employees, she said she is sure that human resources administrators will exercise more caution in the future.
Helen Mardis, director of human resources, was not available for comment.
The district currently conducts electronic background checks on employees, a system that was implemented in 2000. Employees who were hired prior to that date have not been checked.
Evanston police and schools should adopt a background check system similar to Chicago’s, Luecke said. Chicago Police alert schools if an employee has a criminal record.
“I don’t know that one can totally avoid it from happening again,” she said. “What I hope is that (the district) will develop a different procedure. … We have to make sure that it is carefully done.”
The district has already implemented some changes, Roy said. A decision was made during ongoing revision of the crisis management system to call 911 rather than the superintendent if another incident takes place within the school. All employees have been asked to wear identification, and custodians at each school were told to make frequent checks around campus for any suspicious activity.
“It’s a slow process, but we’re getting there,” Roy said. “Security will be beefed up.”
But Roy said parents and school employees now have a sense of closure regarding the incident.
“We can come to some resolution now that we know who did it,” Roy said. “We’re ready to move on with the business of education.”
Swinand, the parent, also said she hopes that the school year will continue without any more problems.
“We are upset, but we are relieved that there is an answer,” she said. “We want to move on.”
Reach Kate Ward at [email protected].
