CAZENOVIA - Josh Manock is torn about going back to school.

The 17-year-old at Weston High School is not looking forward to the swell of emotions likely to return when he joins other classmates Monday.

That's when he plans to talk to a counselor about Friday's double tragedy in which principal John Klang was shot and killed and classmate Erik Fichtel was killed in an unrelated car crash.

Despite his reservations, Manock knows that the community will be stronger because of the surreal events of the homecoming weekend.

"We just have to stick together and help each other out," Manock said while retrieving his pickup truck from the school parking lot Saturday. "There's not much more we can do."

One of two ways

Even as they grieve, residents of the rural community of Cazenovia in Sauk County have a decision to make about the future of their school, a national expert on school violence said.

It can go one of two ways, said Bill Bond, the former principal of a Kentucky high school where a freshman shot and killed three students in 1997.

The students and staff of Weston school and the residents who support it can join together, or they can come apart, said Bond, who arrived in Cazenovia on Saturday to consult school officials.

"If the community and the school pull together and support each other, they can become a stronger unit," he said. "But they can also start to play the blame game and tear each other apart and destroy the community and the school."

Bond said his former school, Heath High School in Paducah - where a student fired 10 times into a student prayer group, killing three and injuring five - came back stronger than before.

"No teachers left, and we improved the way we treated each other," said Bond, who retired from Heath in 2000 and now travels the country talking about school violence for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "Kids treated each other better and teachers treated kids better."

Weston school is a tight-knit community of about 300 students and 60 staff. It enrolls students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

School is likely to resume Thursday after funerals are held Tuesday for Fichtel and Wednesday for Klang, School Board president David Wermund said.

Determination shows

On Saturday, a day in which the community might have been celebrating a win on the football field and preparing for a homecoming dance Saturday night, the grief remained but the determination to overcome the tragedy was evident.

"From what I saw last night, I think everybody is going to pull together," said Tammy Ronnfeldt, 36, of Cazenovia, referring to a well attended candlelight vigil at the football field. "But I think getting off the bus and walking into the high school will be hard for a lot of people." Ronnfeldt is the mother of two middle school students who are in their second year in the district.

Her oldest is Emily Ronnfeldt, a 12-year-old seventh-grade student.

"I'm looking forward to it," Emily said of returning to school. "Mr. Klang smiled a lot and when you see his picture, you'll remember him by his smile."

By Saturday afternoon, a 5-foot-tall white cross with Klang's picture had been placed near the main entrance to the school. On and below the cross were teddy bears, candles and a stuffed panda bear wearing a red WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) sweater.

"I think this school is going to stay together," said high school English and Spanish teacher Janis Unbehaun, 58, who has been with the district for 22 years. "We have a good foundation emotionally."

Unbehaun was in the copying room near the school office when the shooting took place, and unplugged the copy machine to move it in front of the door to help secure the room. She said she will be at school today to meet with staff and students and learn more about the events of Friday.

"We don't know the little details," Unbehaun said. "That's what I'm trying to understand. We have a need to understand."

Junior Ashley Schneider, 16, a three-sport athlete, would have played alto saxophone in the pep band Friday night and been at Saturday night's dance. She believes the school will come together but that there is no clear path to that goal.

"We've never been through it, so we'll play it by ear and hopefully things will turn out in a good way," she said Saturday.

Bond said he can't predict what the eventual outcome will be for Weston school but he is confident of one thing.

"I do know it'll never be the same," he said.

Contact Karen Rivedal at krivedal@madison.com or 608-252-6106. Contact Barry Adams at badams@madison.com or 608-252-6148.