City Council Member Rob Fong, a McClatchy alum, organized the meeting:
 
The reason the city is involved at this point with the school district is because we want to make very clear that whatever is going on at this school or any school in the city is not solely a school district responsibility.  It’s a community responsibility.
 
The gun incidents, include one last October when a student accidentally shot himself in class with a gun he brought to school.  Another on the same day, involved a student who got into an argument with his girlfriend near school grounds and fired a round into the air.
Fong had participants break into groups and rank their concerns about security at the school.  Concerns ran the gamut from the 2 thousand student school being too large to security personnel on campus not being properly trained.
Sacramento City Unified School Board President Manny Hernandez told the crowd the board is already considering extra safety measures:
 
We have the Board of Education reviewing everything from weapon detection options, whether they’re wands that might be deployed on an occasional basis, and some school districts even use gun sniffing dogs.  That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it, but it means that we’re thinking about it.
 
Parent Julie Davies didn’t like those ideas at all: 
 
 I think it’s a really depressing thought. There’s an environment at the school that we need to still consider, and I don’t think we need to make it a locked camp.
 
Participants were also asked for their own solutions.  Some of those included adding more police patrols near the school, to setting up an alternative school for problem students.
Councilmember Fong says city and education officials will look at everything suggested and report back at another community meeting scheduled for late August.