North Hills Students Plan Another Walkout Friday

ROSS TOWNSHIP, PA - Just as it did for last month’s National School Walkout, the North Hills School District will allow its high school students to walk out of class again while remaining in the building.

Another national walkout is planned Friday at many schools to mark the 19th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, where 12 students and a teacher were killed.

Student protesting are expected to call for stronger gun control measures, just as they did last month to mark the one-month anniversary of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed. Spurred by survivors of the shooting, the walkout is part of a larger effort to get stricter federal gun control legislation enacted.

North Hills superintendent Patrick Mannarino said in a letter to district families that high school administrators became aware Thursday that some of the high school students planned to participate in the latest walkout.

“As we did with a previous `walkout. in March, we are providing a well-supervised, safe and secure area for our high school students inside their building on Friday during this time period,” he stated. “This designated area within the building will allow those who wish to participate an area to do so as part of their school day.”

Student who don’t wish to participate in the event will remain in class and be supervised by teachers. All students will be accounted for, Mannarino said.

Ross and West View police officers will be on the secondary schools campus throughout the walkout to ensure student safety. The high school building is the only one expected to have a walkout, but Mannarino said administrators are prepared if walkouts occur in other schools.

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