School assault fix in works

Proposed bill would toughen present rules

February 7, 2006

MARY AMES/Frontiersman reporter

A local school assault that ended with a slap on the wrist for the perpetrator now has a state-level profile that may lead to tougher laws governing such attacks.

A secretary at Pioneer Peak Elementary School testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week about her less-than-pleasant experiences at work, hoping to help pass new legislation. An angry parent assaulted Toni Hartley last May after Hartley, in accordance with school district policy, asked to see some identification before she released a student to the woman.

Hartley has racked up more than $11,000 in medical expenses, lost time from work, lost her free time with family and is still not fully recovered from injuries she received when Sammie Jo Wilson grabbed her by the hair, bent her over and punched her in the head repeatedly, Hartley told the committee.

According to court records, Wilson, 35, pleaded no contest to one charge of fourth-degree assault and was sentenced to write a letter of apology. Wilson's $500 fine and 30 days in jail were both suspended.

House Bill 41, co-sponsored by Reps. Bob Lynn and Rep. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, passed the House last session and just recently received a hearing in the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, where Hartley submitted her testimony. The bill mandates a minimum of 60 days in jail for anyone convicted of fourth-degree assault on someone working in a school or a contractor who is performing school duties when the assault takes place.

Lynn said he wasn't so much surprised when he heard about Hartley as he was disgusted.

&#8220There are some very good judges out there, but not enough,” Lynn said. &#8220Judges want to counsel and remediate. I'm in favor of that. But it can be done from jail. Let's have anger management, prayer, you name it, but have it in jail.”

During the years he taught in public schools, Rep. Lynn was never assaulted, but he had been afraid, he said recently.

Hartley said she recounted her experience for the committee and then told them of more incidents that took place at her school.

&#8220Schools are more volatile. Especially with custody issues, we have to decipher the court documents. Who is supposed to have custody on which days, and who is supposed to pick up the student,” she said. &#8220We are on alert to that every single day. Police officers are armed. Judges and prosecutors have armed security guards and metal detectors to protect them. The only security that students have are the school district employees.”

The other incidents Hartley spoke about to the committee included having to call the Alaska State Troopers about a child who was still at school at 6 p.m. The next day, the parent came into the school and verbally assaulted Hartley and Principal Dan Molina, she said.

A convicted sex abuser violated a restraining order and refused to leave a classroom. So Molina had to call the troopers, she said.

Molina was also attacked with &#8220ferocious profanity” by a parent who accused him of reporting the parents to the Office of Children's Services, she said. And when another parent found out he had been reported to OCS, he chased the school nurse down a hallway and Molina had to put himself physically between the nurse and the parent.

Sen. Ralph Seekins, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said after hearing testimony that he would prefer to address the more serious charge of committing crimes on school property, and not limit the number of people who are protected.

&#8220You have to make sure that while you are trying to help some people, you don't overlook others,” he said. &#8220As written, the bill didn't mention students or parent volunteers. Rather than having a list of who it protects, I want it to be about the crime against whomever.”

Seekins said he expects HB 41 to come back into his committee after Lynn and McGuire change the bill's language.

&#8220We on the Judiciary Committee on the Senate side try to look at things as more all-inclusive,” he said.

An assault on school district property is rare in the Valley, according to Kevin Koechlein, who works in risk management with the Mat-Su Borough School District.

&#8220This just doesn't happen very often, and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again,” Koechlein said. &#8220We have a lot of verbal abuse, but most people seem to understand there is a line there. As far as HB 41, we are supportive of that and whatever will make schools safer.”

The bill will be up before the House Judiciary Committee again Wednesday, and the public can give testimony again, according to Nancy Manly, legislative aid for Rep. Lynn.

For Hartley, the bill wasn't passed soon enough.

&#8220Right now, those who choose not to follow the law are the ones who have the big voices and the big guns,” she said. &#8220I wish this bill had been in place so I would have had some legal recourse.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.