Politics & Government
Anti-Bully Task Force Initiated by City
After a meeting that included the heads of the police department, school district and two City Council members, the next step is to hold a public workshop, Murrieta City Councilman Alan Long said.
Key figures of the city, school district and police department came together recently to form an anti-bully task force in Murrieta.
This was after the City Council approved the formation of the task force on Sept. 20, assigning Mayor Pro Tem Doug McAllister and Alan Long to the committee. Long said the next step is to organize a city-wide workshop which the public will be invited to.
"This is beyond Murrieta, it is international. We are ahead of most (cities)," Long said. "The school district is already doing a good job. We endorse that and we want to cooperate and encourage other people to."
Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The California League of Cities, of which Murrieta is a member, approved a resolution in September encouraging cities to launch public awareness campaigns about the effects of bullying.
saying it encourages cities to promote anti-bullying efforts yet provides no substantive steps to do so.
Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The city then drafted its own resolution, spelling out the purpose of the task force. The group's first meeting included Murrieta police Chief Mike Baray, Schools Superintendent Stan Scheer, McAllister and Long.
"I want to make sure what is being done on the school district level is consistent with what is being done on the city level," Long said.
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District has One speaker after he was bullied at school and online. The district has also held , which have included information on new trends in bullying.
Community members will also be invited to serve on the task force.
"We have several local experts on this who live in the area," Long said.
He mentioned John Vandenburgh, who is a former school district employee who four or five years ago branched out to start his own safety campaign.
Vandenburgh is the author of the safe schools approach, the PLUS Program, and the creator of the Internet safety and cyberbullying prevention software, CyberBully Alert.
Long said the goal is to cooperatively promote this initiative.
"The first thing is, kids need to know it is not OK to be bullied, and it is not 'cool' to bully.
"Beyond awareness, people need to know where to go."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
