District rejects AG Nessel's offer to investigate Oxford High School shooting
OXFORD, Mich. (FOX 2) - The school board rejected Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's offer to investigate the Oxford High School shooting.
Nessel first offered to investigate the shooting in December and again in April. She promised it would not cost the district money nor interfere with criminal proceedings.
Read: Nessel offers investigation into events that led up to mass shooting
Instead, the district said it will use "more holistic third-party reviews" to look at the district's three-year plan and the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that left four students dead. Three companies are being considered to conduct the reviews.
"I want to know what happened here. I want to know what happened in this house. I don't even want to know to place blame, I want to know because this will forever affect my son and other people, and I want it to never happen again," said parent Renee Upham.
According to the district, the ongoing criminal cases stemming from the shooting have delayed the release of information that could help the review. Because of this, the school board said the third-party review won't happen until have the trials of suspected shooter Ethan Crumbley and his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley.
Parents shared their thoughts about the decision not to have Nessel investigate during a board meeting Tuesday, while students pushed back at the district for not having a memorial for the victims. According to the board, a memorial with the faces of Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling, and Hana St. Juliana could be triggering.
MORE: Hana St. Juliana's family wants permanent memorial
Students who spoke at the board challenged that, saying they wanted to see the smiling faces of the four killed because they no longer see them at school. The school board president said the proposed memorial will be reviewed.
The board also left room to take up Nessel's investigation offer in the future. However, her office said the offer has a May 20 deadline.