A blog entry at alliednews.com posed several questions about the Grove City High School “murder list” that was discovered last Friday. The list named 48 students and teachers, and was reported by a concerned student.

Among the blogger’s questions was if the students responsible for the list are from one of “these families that get away with anything they do in this lil town of Grove City.” The blogger worries that the girls will get a slap on the wrist and be returned to regular classes with the other kids. The blogger also states that this is his/her child’s last year in public schools – the child’s education will continue through other means.

I understand the concerns of parents. I understand parents wanting to ensure the safety of their children. The murder list, and the subsequent list of “people I would like to kill” discovered Wednesday at Grove City Middle School, should be taken seriously. That’s just what the school district and police are doing.

Word gets around in a small town, and I’m aware of the identity of one of the girls involved. She’s from a good, respected, working class family that I’m certain is taking their daughter’s actions just as seriously if not more so. I can’t imagine the turmoil they are experiencing. Their daughter is one of those really, really nice kids – a nice kid who made a substantial mistake.

It’s a shame. I wouldn’t want to be in the parents’ shoes, but even more so, I wouldn’t want to make the decisions for the girls’ futures. The consequences of their actions can reach far into their futures.

As a product of Grove City Area School District, and as the mother of a child in the district, I know that Superintendent Bob Post and secondary principals Joe Skibinski and Jim Anderson truly care about the students. They want what’s best for everyone.

As school officials have said, they don’t believe that the two high school girls who made last Friday’s list or the middle school girl who wrote this week’s list were planning to harm anyone.

Still, they have been suspended, and they could face further suspension and possibly expulsion.

Police charged the high school girls with making terroristic threats. Even if they had no intent to harm anyone physically, the students on the list and their parents must have been unnerved at the very least. That, to me, is the crime – that these girls have made their fellow students and their parents question the safety of being at school. The time and money being spent in investigations and court proceedings are secondary.

The thing about schools – public or private – is that they’re full of people. People mess up. No one is minimizing that. As parents we have to put our trust in others to ensure our children’s safety at school.

Fortunately, in Grove City we have a school district where it’s reasonable to have that trust. And unfortunately, every now and then an incident will occur that will breach it.

In suspending and charging the girls, the school district and police are taking the appropriate steps to handle the situation. That is the biggest deterrent to other kids.

No one can prevent future incidents from occurring, but hopefully the community – including the blogger – will keep in mind the great school district and police force that Grove City have.

Our kids are as safe as they can be.