By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
The Rio Hondo Independent School District has implemented a balloon ban for all its campuses in the wake of 7-year-old Ruby Ramirez’ tragic death over a week ago due to what authorities, citing a preliminary autopsy report, believe was asphyxiation due to choking on a balloon. But what about other local school districts?
“That was an unfortunate circumstance, and our hearts go out to the (Ramirez) family, but we’re not considering any action like that at this time,” said Los Fresnos CISD Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar about the idea of implementing a balloon ban in his schools. “The safety of our kids is at the forefront of every lesson. That’s the policy we have in place to make it specific to certain items. If we emphasize safety in everything we do, that’s the best policy we have for Los Fresnos.”
San Benito CISD Superintendent of Schools Antonio G. Limón also did not see the need for a balloon ban, but did say that teachers have already expressed the importance of safety with students.
“We’re not banning balloons,” Limón said. “We’re still going to use them for instruction as far as reading and science activities, and teachers talked to students about safety issues with them.”
Still, Limón said educators have been instructed to remain careful about balloon use in the classrooms. “The only thing we did do is inform teachers not to issue [balloons] as rewards,” Limón said. “But we’ll continue to use them for instructional purposes.”
“We’re just doing that for precautions,” Rio Hondo ISD Superintendent Anneliese McMinn said about her district’s ban on balloons. “We’re not going to let them (balloons) be in our school.”
McMinn said that with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the district is encouraging the use of other festive items which do not include balloons.
“We will keep any balloon bouquets at the front office and return them to the students after school,” McMinn said. “When the national statistics on asphyxiation were released, we just thought we would err on the side of caution. Parents were concerned about the safety of kids, and we don’t want to take any chances.”
Read this story in the Feb. 10 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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