Fight erupts; 2 sisters get into trouble

A spokesman said the sisters went out of their way to join a hallway fight.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two sisters at East Middle School face possible expulsion from school, and police will likely file charges against them after they fought with teachers who were trying to keep them from joining a fight.
Mike McNair, Youngstown City Schools supervisor of community relations, said the sisters, both eighth- graders, have been suspended and are at the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center while school officials investigate.
McNair said the girls were in classrooms across the hall from each other Wednesday morning about 10:45 when a fight started in the hall.
As other students ran to join in, the girls attempted to leave their classrooms, ignoring teachers' orders that everyone remain seated.
He said the teachers were stationed in the doorways, trying to keep peace, and the girls' actions made the situation worse. McNair said the girls tried to "run over" the teachers to get into the hall, and the teachers tried to stop them.
"They were clearly trying to add to a situation that was already difficult to deal with," McNair said. "They went out of their way to get involved."
Tussling begins
McNair said there was "some tussling going on," between teachers and students, which was "gross insubordination" and "direct defiance" to the teachers' orders.
In the process, the teachers were struck a couple of times but not seriously injured, he added.
Part of the investigation by school officials will be to determine if the teachers were struck intentionally or just inadvertently as the students were trying to join the fight.
McNair said he has no details of the original fight, which "amounted to nothing" compared to the girls' actions.
The school district has a no-tolerance policy regarding violence in the schools, he added.
He said the girls' parents were immediately notified and are in full support of school officials' actions.