Code of Conduct Reviews Sparks Debate

A first reading of the proposed Code of Conduct for the 2011-12 school year was the main topic of conversation at Thursday's Francis Howell Board of Education meeting.

Parent Tom Klein got the ball rolling during the patron comments section of the night. Klein was concerned about the length and content of the proposed Code. He said he had problems with the COC focusing on such a small part of the student population, those who get in trouble often. Klein also said that the COC was too specific. Klein said the United States Constitution is just six pages, while the tax code is significantly longer.

“Which one has more loopholes?” he said.

Klein said the Board needed to review the COC and go in a different direction. He said he read other codes and like them much better, especially Rockwood’s.

Once it was the Board’s turn to debate the issue, multiple questions were raised.

Director Amy McEvoy read a passage concerning students taking illicit and illegal substances that named just about every thing imaginable. The passage she read was wordy and very thorough, but a challenge to read.

“That’s why parents don’t read it,” she said.

McEvoy said she understood the COC was just trying to cover all the bases, but wished parents and students had access to something in more plain speak.

“I wish there was some way we could have a condensed version,” she said.

Director Mark Lafata also wondered the code had to be so specific. He said when he was in school he didn’t have a code of conduct. When he got in trouble, he had to get a paddling.

Lafata said many of the things in the COC are unnecessary and could be made simpler.

“If it’s against the law, it’s against the code of conduct,” he said.

Board Treasure Mike Hoehn wondered why there were multiple COCs—elementary, middle school and high school kids have different codes. He was told by the administration that there were some things that weren’t appropriate for elementary kids—drugs use, for example. Also, punishment differs by age. A grade-school kid bring a knife to school in his lunch box may not know that it’s against the rules while a high school student certainly would.

Things got heated when Lafata complained about the existing COC. Lafata said the current policy is too restrictive on parents.

Lafata said this year gave his high-school aged son aspirin to school in case he got a headache. He said he gave his son a written note granting him permission to carry around the pills. Lafata said his son was told the he couldn’t do that and would have to bring a bottle to the school nurse and would have to get the pills from there—he couldn’t carry the aspirin around all day.

“It’s way too much control,” Lafata. “It’s taking away my rights as a parent to tell me [he] can’t carry a Tylenol in his pocket.”

Superintendent Dr. Pam Sloan said the rules are in place for safety. She said she has personally a student overdose after taking what they were told was aspirin from another student.

Board Director Dr. Cynthia Bice agreed. She said the District has to look out for all students and has to make sure everyone is safe. The District can’t let students carry around notes that could be forged or pills that aren’t what they claim to be.

After more than 30 minutes discussing the issue, the Board agreed to move on. The administration will review the current proposed Code of Conduct and present a final version for the BOE to vote on at the June 2 meeting.

• School lunches are going up a nickel. A federal mandate says the district has to up the cost of lunch to keep receiving federal funding. The plan presented by Chief Financial Officer Kevin Supple has the District have a small raise every year for the next few years until the goal is met.
• The Board approved all purchases over $7,500.
• With a 6-1 vote, Lafata being the lone nay vote, the Board  approved the 2011-2012 FHESPA Salary Schedule and the agreements outlined in the FHESPA Closure Document.
• Members of the Board and Administration congratulated Francis Howell North and Francis Howell Central for earning A+ designation.