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Parent tells Capitan school board a student threatened her child in 2018 and brought a gun in 2023; parents demand action
Summary
During public comment Melanie Gutierrez told the Capitan Municipal Schools board a third grader threatened her daughter in 2018 and later brought a gun to school in 2023, urging the board to prioritize student safety; two other commenters echoed concerns. No formal board action was recorded at the meeting.
Melanie Gutierrez, a parent joining the May board meeting remotely, urged the Capitan Municipal Schools board to act on student-safety concerns that she said spanned years. She told the board that in 2018 a third grader threatened her daughter “to lift your throat and watch you bleed out,” and that the same child later brought a gun to school in 2023.
"Does that sound like escalation to you? Does the word safe come to mind when you're allowing the same student back into school?" Gutierrez asked the board, adding: "Have you considered the gross negligence that is occurring here?" She warned that families could remove their children from the district and raised the prospect of legal action.
Wade Gutierrez and another public commenter echoed those concerns, saying the district should not readmit a student who had brought a gun to campus and that safety for other children must come first. Wade Gutierrez said he had "the same concerns with Melanie" and supported steps to protect students.
Board President (presiding) acknowledged the comments and thanked speakers. After public comment the president said, "I guess if he comes back in, we'll we'll just jump to it," but the board did not record any formal action, vote, or direction to staff on the matter during the meeting.
The district's public-comment rules, read aloud at the start of the period, remind speakers that the board will not hear complaints about school personnel or other individuals at public sessions and caution against personal attacks; the board also limits each commenter to three minutes. The concerns raised at this meeting were presented as allegations by parents and were not adjudicated during the session.
The meeting record shows no formal referral, suspension action, or investigation result announced in public during the session; any administrative responses or personnel actions were not discussed on the record at this meeting.
