By Unsie Zuege

In the coming year, District 112 officials say they’ll be keeping their eyes on how to best ensure students who get into trouble will be treated equitably and fairly at each of its two high schools.

When there was only Chaska High School, protocol was fairly clear cut in the handling of juvenile misdemeanors.

“The school district establishes standards and expectations for non-criminal behavior,” said Nancy Kracke, director of community relations at District 112. “Behavior that is criminal, that can be charged, we work with our two [law enforcement] agencies and the County Attorney’s Office.”

The agencies Kracke referred to are the Chaska Police Department and the Carver County Sheriff’s Office. Policing jurisdiction is divided based on location. Schools within the Chaska city limits have school resource officers from Chaska P.D.; schools outside the city of Chaska have SROs from the Sheriff’s Office.

“We forward any charges, misdemeanors and on up, to the County Attorney’s Office,” said Sgt. Jon Kehrberg, supervisor of the Chaska SRO program, “where it is determined if the complaint is chargeable. The county attorney’s office determines if the complaint continues on to court or if is recommended for the juvenile diversion program.”

In the case of Chanhassen High School being under the Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction, first-time juvenile offenders committing low-level misdemeanors may be offered an alternative to the court system. Instead of being written up, and having the complaint sent to the County Attorney’s Office, the juvenile may be offered restorative conferencing.

Restorative justice

Restorative conferencing is based on the belief that the offender, the victim and the community can turn a negative into a positive learning experience. A facilitator arranges a meeting between the juvenile offender and the victim. The offender apologizes to the victim, agrees to repay the loss of property or damages through a work agreement, and must participate in some type of community service.

Restorative conferencing was introduced in Carver County in 2000 by then Director of Court Services Justine Phillips. Grant money enabled Phillips to hire Maureen Farrell to create a restorative justice program. The program worked with the county’s law enforcement agencies including Chaska P.D., the Sheriff’s Office, the County Attorney’s Office, Court Services and court judges.

“One of our goals was to do front-line diversion with the Sheriff’s Office, with the Chaska Police,” Farrell said. According to Kehrberg, the Chaska Police had a positive experience with the county’s restorative conferencing initiative, but discontinued the program when funding stopped.

Kehrberg pointed out that years before Court Services introduced the restorative justice program, Chaska P.D. used family group conferencing, a similar concept, for juvenile offenses that didn’t rise to a criminal level.

“Our school officers do that for things that don’t rise to a criminal level,” Kehrberg said. “They will counsel kids and get various groups together. A good example, is when there might be tension between groups at high school but it doesn’t rise to a criminal level. So the SROs get involved with the groups to talk it through, especially at the high school level.

This type of intervention “is a matter of problem-solving, so tensions don’t continue or escalate,” he said. “The key is, if it rises to criminal level, it goes to the County Attorney’s Office. Once we’ve identified that a crime occurred, there is a process in place and criteria set, and it’s a county system. You have to have that kind of process for fairness.”

Sheriff’s initiative

Sheriff Bud Olson said when federal funding lapsed, he felt the restorative program was too good to go away. He decided his office would find funding within the county to keep the program.

“I have known families for which the restorative justice option has worked in solving the issues instead of routing it through the traditional justice model,” Olson said. “I do believe kids make poor choices. It’s appropriate in certain circumstances.

“For example, recently there were juveniles in a car prowling case in Chanhassen,” Olson said. “We took the restorative conferencing route. It shows there’s another way. Justice is doing the right thing to restore faith and confidence in the kids in the community, and to show kids there are consequences.

“But if the victim chooses not to participate, the case goes into the system,” Olson said. “It’s no free pass.”

Deputy Bob Zydowsky, Chanhassen High School SRO, agrees that restorative conferencing can be an effective tool in the right circumstances. Still, it’s up to the SRO to assess each circumstance.

Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight said his concern is that “when we worked with all the county entities, when it was grant funded, we all had an established criteria and what cases would fall under the restorative practice model; which ones were best suited to be there.

“Then the funding stopped,” Knight said. “There were no capital costs, it was personnel driven. Truly the funding was the major piece,” he said in why the countywide program ended. If Carver County had a restorative practices component again, as it was built the first time around with oversight by the County Attorney’s Office, Carver County Court Services and district judges, Knight said his department would be interested.

“There’s a fairness piece,” Knight said. “Without that oversight and set criteria about who is directed into restorative conferencing rather than diversion and further court processes, fairness issues can be raised.“The way it’s set up now, if a child is diverted or goes through the system, no one can suggest that an individual has not been fairly treated or that favoritism was shown. As we become fortunately more diverse in our community, we must be very careful about how that is conducted.”

County attorney

“I believe in the concept of restorative justice philosophically,” Carver County Attorney Jim Keeler said, “and that in the appropriate situation, it works very well. The issue I see is that presently we don’t have a countywide restorative justice program. Sheriff Olson has his restorative justice conference initiative through his office and as I understand it, the Sheriff’s deputies have the discretion to decide if a offense is cited and entered into the system, or whether the situation warrants a restorative justice alternative.

“What I would like to see is more definitive criteria and record keeping; who was referred to it, who was deemed eligible and who was not. What types of delinquent acts qualify and what won’t? How do you know if you are applying the juvenile diversionary program equally? Currently we don’t know what its history is.”

“There’s a lot of work to do before we can say that Carver County has a [restorative justice] program,” Keeler said. “You have to get all the folks who work with juveniles before you can get buy-in across the board.”

Sheriff Olson said he is aware of the County Attorney’s concerns and has since spoken to Keeler on working toward specific criteria.

“I want to lock it down more firmly,” Olson said. “We’re not screening all case for restorative conferencing, but it is an alternative. I want to make sure that the program is reviewed, evaluated and that we apply best practices and establish good criteria and record keeping.”

Felony still felony

“There are cases where an officer may decide to write a ticket and the juvenile pays a fine,” Zydowsky said. “Or if the owner is present at the scene, they may agree that the kids will pay for repairs. In the case of a first time petty misdemeanor, I may decide to recommend the restorative conferencing model and send the report to Maureen Farrell.

“If the student doesn’t admit guilt,” Zydowsky said, “if the victim doesn’t agree to participate, then the citation goes into the legal system and up the chain of command. If there’s been criminal damage or a felony committed, then it goes into the court system.”

Zydowsky described a recent incident at Chanhassen High School. A student was caught stealing computer equipment. Had it been a first-time offense, he might have considered recommending restorative conferencing.

“But he’s done this before at middle school, at his other school,” Zydowsky said. “The complaint was written and sent to the County Attorney’s Office.”

More conversations

“Schools have the ability to evaluate an offense that has occurred on school property and enact consequences like suspension or expulsion,” Keeler said. “There are schools that have an internal restorative justice program that would deal with, for example, a fight in the lunchroom. That type of incident would be reported to the school resource officer and students would be not only be under the jurisdiction and policies of the school district, but based on the offense, severity and other factors, the SRO could also decide to charge the kids with assault. The school could do that as well.”

Still, the district is aware that with two policing jurisdictions, there may be a perception that minor first-time crimes committed at one high school might be treated differently than at the other.

The Rev. Gordon Stewart, of Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska, is a member of the Chaska Chief of Police Public Safety Task Force and the Beacon Council Advisory Committee. The Beacon Council was organized by District 112’s Community Education office to address diversity issues in the school district and the communities it serves. He serves on the council’s public safety subcommittee.

“I don’t recall how the topic came up or who raised it,” Stewart said, but my concern is there be consistent disciplinary policy across the school district.

“Schools are an educational setting,” Stewart said, “and the purpose is to guide students through learning processes to lead them to mature adulthood and to contribute to their communities.

“I see law enforcement in schools as being less about law and punishment, moving more to restorative intervention where issues are resolved quickly, and students learn from the incident,” Stewart said. “It’s important that everyone be treated fairly especially because the new high school puts most of the racial, ethnic and economic diversity in Chaska High School. If there is not a consistent policy, it will just perpetuate a system where students in the white, middle and upper middle-classes will be kept out of the system and a more diverse population ends up in the system."

“I can’t speak to how unique the situation is,” Superintendent David Jennings said of the district having two policing jurisdictions. “I know we’re not the only one. We have had conversations about how to effectively coordinate what happens to students who break the law. We continue to have conversations on how to manage that process. We do have a track record as Chaska P.D. has had SRO officers in the city’s schools and the Carver County Sheriff’s Offices SROs in the elementary schools outside Chaska.

“There is a potential when you are dealing with multiple jurisdictions,” Jennings said, “but there are certain things that the district is responsible for and insists on equity in how to deal with those incidents and students.”

According to Kracke, the district has talked internally about equity across all areas, not just in how SROs deal with student misdemeanors at school.

“We’re walking on new ground here,” Kracke said. “My understanding is we’ll be working with and talking to the County Attorney, Chaska P.D. and the Sheriff’s Office. What is equity and what does it look like? And, we have to let go when it is criminal behavior.”

So far, Kracke said the topic has not come up at school board discussions.

“This is new territory for us,” Kracke said. “It is the kind of thing we need to be discussing. I think that both the Sheriff and Chaska P.D. want what’s best for the kids in this community. No doubt we’ll sit down and talk about appropriate consequences and work things out.

“I have to say, I’m unaware of any deep differences, but it is so early in our experiences,” Kracke said. “But it is not a bad idea to see how it does play out and what makes the most sense for both schools.”