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Resident raises school-safety concern, alleges a past attack at Passage Middle School and calls for review
Summary
During public comment at the Jan. 28 meeting, resident John Bloom urged council to investigate whether law enforcement was notified after an alleged January 2023 incident at Passage Middle School in which a student stabbed a teacher with a pencil, and asked that the student be moved out of regular schools; no city action was taken at the meeting.
At the Jan. 28 Newport News City Council meeting, resident John Bloom used the public comment period to urge the city to check whether law enforcement and other authorities were notified after an alleged attack on a teacher at Passage Middle School in January 2023.
Bloom told the council he first learned of the incident while teaching and said parents had withdrawn a child from the school over safety concerns. He said federal and state law require a principal to notify law enforcement after an assault and asked the city to confirm whether that notification occurred. He also urged that the student be removed from regular classes, suggesting juvenile detention or an alternative placement; he twice referenced a principal named Chris Smith and later referenced "Mary Jones" in relation to the timing of the incident.
Bloom said, "I violated the Newport News policy and procedures manual, but didn't violate my conscience," describing his decision to speak out. The city did not respond with a formal investigation directive during the meeting, and no school or police officials spoke on the record at the council session. The meeting record does not identify the student's school district follow-up or whether law enforcement was notified.
