Last September our son, who attended Los Cerritos Middle School, made the mistake of leaving his Boy Scout pocketknife in his backpack. He was in the school band and would enter the grounds an hour early every day to fulfill his P.E. requirement. His mother, an active member of the PTA, instructed him to take his keys with him because she might be late getting back from the Book Fair she was attending to at local elementary school.

He had just received his key this summer and had attached his pocketknife to it for safekeeping. This was also the first time he was ever required to take his keys. In the morning rush, he mistakenly threw both chain and attached knife into his backpack.

While at school his pack fell out of his locker when it was discovered by two boys. They searched his pack and found the knife and reported it.

After receiving a citation by a deputy, the principal, Eleanor Love, recommended that he be expelled.

Our son is a GATE student with very high grades. He has never had any disciplinary problems at school in the past. His record is clean. He's also a black belt in taekwondo, a Boy Scout and active in several sports.

Like any child his age, he made a mistake and should be punished accordingly. However, it's our strong belief that expulsion is reserved for students that demonstrate criminal behavior, endanger other students' safety or continually get themselves into trouble.

By the way, the boys who discovered the knife were arrested two weeks later for stealing cellphones and other items from student's packs on school grounds.

While it's of paramount importance that the schools in our district remain safe, it's equally important that administrators and parents exercise good judgement.

Instead of suspension and community service, the district recommended expulsion. While degrees of expulsion may vary, this punishment will resemble that given to other students who have committed acts that are considered criminal in nature.

The district enforces a policy which insulates itself from lawsuits by disciplining students uniformly with little regard for past behavior and or individual circumstances. These kinds of situations need to be looked at on a case by case basis. Doing otherwise disregards common sense and is a disservice to our youth. Dan Goldberg Thousand Oaks