Written by Tanya Terry
Potentially for safety of Flint Community Schools students and staff, the district
has asked students, families and staff to take part in an online survey by March 14 regarding students being required to carry only clear backpacks.
When a phone threat was made in January 2023, the administration brought the backpack proposal to the school board. At a meeting in February, the board voted 4-3 against the proposal. Some school board members said they voted the proposal down at the time because they felt the community should be able to provide input on the matter.
Discussions on carrying clear backpacks surfaced after the Nov. 30, 2021 Oxford High School Shooting left four students dead and seven others, including a teacher, injured.
The February 13, 2023 mass shooting at Michigan State University has also been brought up at Flint Community Schools board meetings. On this date, three students were tragically killed by a gunman who later shot himself. The gunman also injured five others.
If the policy is implemented, it will cost approximately $36,000. The backpacks would be purchased from ESSER III funding money, which is part of the district’s COVID-19 relief funding.
Superintendent Kevelin Jones has made the following statement:
“At Flint Community Schools, the safety and well-being of our school community remains our highest priority. The key to our success is our ability to collaborate with our school community. Thus, we have launched a backpack policy survey to gather feedback from our stakeholders – scholars, families, teachers and staff – so that we can make an informed decision on our safety protocols. This survey launched on Tuesday, February 28 and will close on Tuesday, March 14. The survey was developed in collaboration with the Michigan State University’s Office of K-12 Outreach’s Data and Evaluation Team and the Flint Board of Education. We look forward to reviewing the survey results so that we can continue to do all that we can to ensure the safety of those we serve. To take the survey, families can visit: https://www.flintschools.org/apps/news/article/1730561.”
