Stockton Unified safety plan reviewed 3 months after campus stabbing: "Not up to date"
STOCKTON — More than three months after a Stockton high school student was stabbed and killed on campus, the Stockton Unified school board got its first look at the results of a safety plan review, just days before the new school year is set to begin.
Aliycia Reynaga, 15, was killed by 52-year-old Anthony Gray on April 18 just after he allegedly tried to grab two girls in the Stagg High School parking lot. A stand-out softball player, known as "Lala" by her family, friends, and teammates, Reynaga was described as being a rising star on the field.
Before Reynaga's death, the Stockton Unified school board approved an independent review by Rockeye Consulting Services, based out of Southern California. The consulting group was tasked with reviewing the Stockton Unified School District's emergency and school safety plans.
From May to July, according to a presentation given Tuesday night to the school board, Rockeye consulting met with school site leaders and visited every site. From the information gathered, the consulting group "determined school site(s) safety plan(s) were not up to date or met SB-187 standards."
The consulting services also included identifying disaster and emergency "challenges & concerns."
From this point, Rockeye Consulting Services presented the findings to the school board. The third and final phase outlined in documents attached to the school board's meeting agenda will be completed by December 2022, five months after the first day of school.
"We cannot change the past but what we can do is move forward. If there's concerns, if there's shortfalls that need to be addressed, then we need to collectively deal with those issues, and fix those," said Dr. Traci Miller, the new interim superintendent.
Miller spent the week before students returned for the first day of school presenting to teachers and district administration. In these 30-45 minute presentations, Miller said, she wanted to get the district on "the same page" and ensure the messaging from the superintendent's office was centered on what's best for the students.
As for the results of the consulting review, Miller said it is "positive" for leadership and said she will not be "afraid of what that report says, let's be part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Over the summer, safety changes have already been put into place, Miller said. At Stagg High School, for example, there will be added security, including school resource officers, on campus starting on the first day of school, Friday. The school also has added fencing that was worked on Tuesday.
Two areas of concern that CBS13 was made aware of by students and staff after Reynaga's death were the Stagg gates that, CBS13 was told, were rarely closed when students were present, and the lack of staffing at the check-in booth at the front of the school.
CBS13 asked Miller about the security changes on the Stagg High School campus before students arrive and she said she was aware of these earlier concerns.
"There is a check-in point at the Stagg campus that we will make sure someone is monitoring and is there, even if that's administrators. If someone isn't there, we're going to make sure someone is there daily checking in our students," said Miller.
Miller could not comment on the investigation due to pending litigation, a SUSD spokesperson told CBS13.
