Retired Los Angeles Police Sgt. Daniel Mastro says he's eager to give input that can help Simi Valley schools deal with the threat of gangs—it's part of the reason he signed up to serve on the city's Community Crime Prevention Task Force in February.

There's a problem, however: He can't get anyone to acknowledge that such a threat exists.

"Here's the issue: I believe nobody wants to even mention the word 'gang.' I think (the school district's) general idea is if we initiate anti-gang programs, the message that tells everybody is we have a gang problem," Mastro said. "And nobody wants to give that impression."

During his 26 years in law enforcement, he said, he's arrested hundreds of gang members, which has given him firsthand knowledge of the devastation gangs can inflict on a community.

"It's like a cancer that continues to grow," said Mastro, who's lived in Simi for three decades. "Gang members solicit other individuals, it takes hold and that's when you have gangrelated incidents."

Through his contacts with probation, parole and law enforcement officials, Mastro said, he's identified several documented gang members and taggers attending Simi Valley Unified schools. That's reason enough, he said, for the district to start thinking about programs targeted specifically at keeping kids out of gangs.

"If we initiate these programs, that's being proactive and smart, said Mastro, a father of three and grandfather of four.

But Mastro is in the minority among his colleagues on the crime prevention task force.

Debbie Sandland, Simi Valley Unified school board's representative on the task force, adamantly dismissed Mastro's claims.

"Gangs are not an issue. We are diligent about keeping our schools safe," said the 12-year school board trustee. "(Mastro) is beating a dead horse."

Bill Waxman, director of secondary education for the school district, backed up Sandland.

"I get things brought to my attention in terms of any specific disciplinary issue of note," Waxman said. "Has anything been brought to my attention in gangrelated areas? No."

Mastro said Superintendent Kathryn Scroggin isn't willing to initiate any new programs.

The Simi Valley Police Department recently completed research on all juvenile crime committed on school campuses. Although the statistics don't specify whether crimes were committed by gang members, they give police a sense of safety on campus.

There were 116 arrests in 2006, 96 in 2007 and 66 as of Oct. 7 this year, according to Capt. Roy Jones. The total number of oncampus arrests this calendar year is expected to be around 80.

"We're showing a significant downward trend of arrests on campuses," said Jones, the investigative division manager for the gang unit and special operations street gang unit.

Jones said the police department knows virtually every gang member in Simi Valley, many of them intimately.

"There are literally a handful of 10 or 15 kids that are gang members (in Simi Valley schools)," Sgt. Dwight Thompson said.

Councilmember Steve Sojka, who cochairs the crime prevention task force, said school resource officers (SROs) are charged with keeping tabs on any gang activity. He lauded Mastro's passion for wanting to keep Simi schools gang-free.

"I appreciate Dan's efforts. He doesn't want it to become a problem and he doesn't want us to become complacent. I appreciate that energy and concern," Sojka said. "I always think there's more we can do."

Thompson, who works with the youth services section of the Simi Valley Police Department, is in charge of SROs and DARE officers. He is informed about any issues regarding at-risk students and he supervises a newly formed diversion program, led by Officer Glenn Ellis, that's responsible for helping reform juvenile offenders.

"I haven't seen any big red flags that say there are gang problems that are completely out of control in our school district," Thompson said.

Undeterred, Mastro wants Simi Valley to become more vigilant in stifling the presence of gangs in schools. He would like to produce an anti-gang video for middle school students to watch. He wants to hold parents accountable for allowing their sons and daughters to be in a gang environment or for bringing them into one, possibly enforcing stronger "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" laws.

Although he praised programs like Second Step and Safe School Ambassadors, Mastro wants to add antigang language to the character and tolerancebased educational programs.

He spoke about how the Canoga Park Alabama gang shifted from Pacoima in the early 1950s; Canoga Park Alabama currently has roughly 400 members, he said.

"This is happening around the country. I can see that happening here," Mastro said. "We can no longer ignore this serious issue. This will be (one of) the most serious matters anyone in this city will ever deal."