Firearms Safety Memorandum

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform and to remind parents and legal guardians of all students in the Julian Union High School District of their responsibilities for keeping firearms out of the hands of children as required by California law. There have been many news reports of children bringing firearms to school. In many instances, the child obtained the firearm(s) from his or her home. These incidents can be easily prevented by storing firearms in a safe and secure manner, including keeping them locked up when not in use and storing them separately from ammunition.

To help everyone understand their legal responsibilities, this memorandum spells out California law regarding the storage of firearms. Please take some time to review this memorandum and evaluate your own personal practices to assure that you and your family are in compliance with California law.

•      With very limited exceptions, California makes a person criminally liable for keeping any firearm, loaded or unloaded, within any premises that are under their custody and control where that person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, and the child obtains access to the firearm and thereby (1) causes death or injury to the child or any other person; (2) carries the firearm off the premises or to a public place, including to any preschool or school grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, or to any school-sponsored event, activity, or performance; or (3) unlawfully brandishes the firearm to others.

Note: The criminal penalty may be significantly greater if someone dies or suffers great bodily injury as a result of the child gaining access to the firearm.

•      With very limited exceptions, California also makes it a crime for a person to negligently store or leave any firearm, loaded or unloaded, on their premises in a location where the person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to it without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by the child, even where a minor never actually accesses the firearm.2

•      In addition to potential fines and terms of imprisonment, as of January 1, 2020, a gun owner found criminally liable under these California laws faces prohibitions from possessing, controlling, owning, receiving, or purchasing a firearm for 10 years.3

•      Finally, a parent or guardian may also be civilly liable for damages resulting from the discharge of a firearm by that person’s child or ward.4

Note: Your county or city may have additional restrictions regarding the safe storage of firearms.
Thank you for helping to keep our children and schools safe. Remember that the easiest and safest way to comply with the law is to keep firearms in a locked container or secured with a locking device that renders the firearm inoperable

1 See California Penal Code sections 25100 through 25125 and 25200 through 25220.

2  See California Penal Code section 25100(c).

3  See California Civil Code Section 29805.

4  See California Civil Code Section 1714.3

Welcoming back students, staff, and families is always an honor and a privilege for me. My focus this year is to create and maintain a safe and secure learning environment where strong partnerships and respectful relationships are the rule and not the exception. Collaborating with all educational partners will help contribute to this goal. Together we can build the kind of momentum we need to continue to move our district in a positive direction.

As we are transitioning into the new school year, I would like to make you aware of the changes we have made. First, I want to formally introduce Ms. Kloude Faraj as our new school Principal. Ms. Faraj is entering her sixth year as a member of the Julian High School staff. She has served as a math teacher and as the Special Education teacher. Ms. Faraj will be a valuable addition to the administrative team.

Melissa Krogh will be leaving her position of confidential Secretary to assume the agriculture teacher position. Melissa brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this position, and we are extremely fortunate to have her.

We also brought in three new members to our staff. Mr. Eli Moreno-Drew and Mr. Justin Wolfe. Mr. Moreno-Drew will be taking over the 9th and 10th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classes. Mr. Moreno-Drew joins our team from the Central Union High School District. Mr. Wolfe is our new Special Education Teacher. Mr. Wolfe joins our team after spending the past 13 years in the Poway Unified School District. Finally, we hired Cassandra Lofgreen as our new Confidential Secretary. Cassandra is a Julian High Graduate and is truly eager to give back to her community. Cassandra will take Melissa’s position and become an asset to all of us in the office and throughout the school. Please take a moment upon your return to welcome our newest staff members to Julian High School.

Throughout the summer we have continued to make improvements to our building’s infrastructure. We have a brand-new scoreboard on the football field, and a brand-new marquee in the front of the school. The Custodial Crew has done a genuinely nice job giving the school a deep cleaning in preparation for your return. Please give them a word of thanks when you see them out and around the campus.

Another one of our goals is to ensure that every student attends school regularly. Chronic absenteeism negatively impacts learning to such a degree that we recognize it as a top priority second only to student safety. Parents and families play a huge role in promoting student attendance. Teachers, counselors, and administrators can offer student support and programs to improve attendance, but parent involvement makes all the difference in ensuring regular student attendance. We will also continue to team up with our community partners and organizations to help promote regular school attendance.

As we begin the 2023-24 school year, I would like to express again how fortunate I feel to be a part of this great Julian Community. It is truly an honor to serve the students as your Superintendent. Welcome back to all returning students and a heartfelt welcome to all our new students and families.