Discipline

Since I announced my candidacy, I have spoken with many individuals who have stressed to me their concerns for stronger discipline to be brought back to the schools. I have listened to multiple stories of students disrespecting teachers and staff in ways that left me in shock. I was informed of several similar incidents of students severely verbally abusing staff without consequence. 

In March 2023, an article was written in the News Herald discussing the increase of disciplinary issues within the school system giving strong evidence to the concerns that I was informed of. In the article, school personnel stated that Covid was to blame and that they do not like to issue out-of-school suspensions as a consequence for misbehavior and instead are “looking for creative solutions to help shift the tide of increased school disruptions.” The article went on to say that “we are a district that is not big on over-suspension or expulsion” and “the majority of our out-of-school suspensions are for aggressive acts.” I believe that one could argue that verbally assaulting a teacher or staff is a pretty aggressive act that should require aggressive discipline to stop the behavior.

While we all understand that "kids will be kids", the disrespect and aggressive acts towards both staff and other students cannot be tolerated. Students who refuse to follow the rules and cause classroom disruptions cannot continue to affect the learning of other students.