School Board Postpones Call to Condemn Violence

A victim of a beating allegedly by San Dieguito High School students was rebuffed Thursday night in an attempt to get school board members to publicly condemn three gang-like attacks blamed on San Dieguito students.

Instead, the San Dieguito Union High School District board of trustees moved to schedule a discussion at its next meeting, in two weeks, about the overall student discipline policy.

Board President Bill Cox said state law prohibits the board from discussing the request because it was not an official agenda item.

In an interview, Cox said, “I think it’s pretty clear how we feel emotionally. If someone is convicted, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But outside that, we don’t know what we, at the school, can do.”

Tom Gabel, who was allegedly attacked June 25 in the driveway of his Leucadia home, urged the board to take a stand against the violence and to clarify whether football coach Ed Burke was speaking for the school board when he asked a judge to let the defendants play football while standing trial.

Gabel was backed by his wife, the mother of another alleged beating victim, and the father of a prosecution witness. Also attending the meeting at the district headquarters in Leucadia were three other alleged victims.

Nine current or former San Dieguito High students, all athletes, have been charged in the three off-campus beatings. Recent graduate Erik Heipt was convicted last week of misdemeanor battery in the April 26 beating of a Palomar College student in a parking lot in La Costa.

“There is a strong feeling among the kids in our community that violence is just part of growing up,” Gabel’s wife, Michaela Murphy, told the board.

“They are watching to see if this is treated seriously. All they are seeing now is people saying it’s not their responsibility.”

Gabel and Murphy said later they are pleased that the board scheduled the discussion for the next meeting, though trustees said it will be a general discussion of behavior problems and probably not involve specific cases or the actions of coach Burke.

“The main thing,” Murphy said, “is that we don’t want to let this go. We want to put it before their eyes and make them deal with it.”