Board to review conduct rules
By Tim Yovich
School administrators and teachers support the policy against fighting, the board president says.
WARREN — The board of education plans to review the school district’s student code of conduct, though it has decided to retain its zero-tolerance policy against fighting in school, the board president says.
“No policy is always perfect. There is always a need for questions,” Robert Faulkner said.
The board and schools Superintendent Kathryn Hellweg have come under criticism by a group of black ministers who question the policy leading to expulsion when students are defending themselves.
Although the ministers have said they aren’t against disciplining students who fight, they contend that students such as Kayla Sparks, a senior, didn’t deserve being suspended for defending herself.
Kayla, a senior, will return to her classes May 1 after appealing her expulsion. She must pass her English and sciences courses to graduate.
During a daylong school board retreat last week, the board decided to stand behind its zero-tolerance policy.
Faulkner said, however, the board annually reviews its policies and code of conduct to determine if they should be modified.
If anything, he noted, there must be better communications with students and their parents about the policy against fighting, the consequences and the appeals process when students are disciplined.
During the retreat, Faulkner said, teachers and administrators backed up the board’s current policy and explained how it has reduced in-school fighting.
He called attention to one teacher who was hospitalized for three days from injuries sustained while breaking up a fight. Injuries such as this, Faulkner said, drive up the cost of workers’ compensation premiums the board pays.
The board president recently attended the National School Boards Conference in Orlando, Fla., where the topic of discussion was school violence and gangs.
He recalled how a teacher at the conference was brought to tears telling how she couldn’t turn her back to her students to write on the blackboard, fearing something would be thrown at her.
“We want people to be in a learning environment,” Faulkner said in justifying the zero-tolerance policy. “We have always had policies to do all we can to make sure the kids graduate.”
Meanwhile, he called on the ministers to stress to their church members the purpose of an education and that their children are in school to learn.
“Some parents think teachers are there to negotiate. No, they’re there to educate,” Faulkner asserted.
yovich@vindy.com