[FONT="]By ASHLEY AMASON[/FONT]
[FONT="] Supt. Carlene Anderson announced school grades at a special meeting of the Walton County School Board June 30. All Walton County elementary and middle schools received an A, except Walton Middle School which earned a B. High school grades are not announced until the fall. “It took everyone to make it happen…we are so proud of their efforts,” Anderson said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Debate over the student code of conduct and attendance policies drew the brief agenda into an hour-and-half meeting.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Board member Mark Davis motioned to advertise a change to the student code of conduct that no student shall be eligible to participate in any extracurricular activities if being supervised by the Department of Juvenile Justice or Department of Corrections, including but not limited to pre-trial, post-trial, or plea supervision.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The motion carried unanimously 4-0, member Dennis Wallace absent.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The board examined the amended attendance policies which, following the previous WCSB meeting, include the changes: any student missing more than 15 days in 90 calendar days will be recommended for expulsion, voluntary travel that exceeds three days without prior administrative permission will be unexcused, and a principal shall require a physician’s statement before excusing student absences in excess of 10 days in any school year.[/FONT]
[FONT="]WCSB Attorney Ben Holley noted the Florida Statute which reads, “No student shall be suspended for unexcused tardiness, lateness, absence, or truancy,” and cautioned the WCSB it would “…never enforce…” the recommendation for expulsion for any student missing more than 15 days in 90 calendar days.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Davis, who spearheaded stricter attendance policy amendments, moved to “advertise an amendment to the rule as adopted, to strike the term ‘and recommended to the Walton County School Board for expulsion’…but also to strike the last bullet point under excused absences’ [‘Other advanced notice absences (principal approved)’].”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Board member Mildred Wilkerson gave a second to the motion.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Chairperson Sharon Roberts argued eliminating the bullet point under excused absences is “doing away with” Davis’ original amendment that voluntary travel that exceeds three days without prior administrative approval is unexcused. Davis countered, “No, if you’re gone for more than three days for voluntary travel, that’s unexcused. If you get it approved ahead of time, it’s excused... ‘Other’ could be something besides travel…‘other’ could be anything other than travel. ”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Anderson suggested moving the voluntary travel amendment from the unexcused list and to the excused list, reading, “Voluntary travel that does not exceed three days…”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“No, I don’t want to do that,” Davis said, “but I’ll tell you why, because everybody will take three-day trips.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Davis clarified “If they take a two-day trip, no matter what, it’s not excused…if they’re going to be gone for more than three days they can get the principal’s permission for their kid to be gone that long. So I’m putting the burden on [parents].”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts asked, “So you’re good with a kid missing three days in a row, but you’re not two days in a row?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“The idea is we get mom and dad in the office to say ‘I’m going to be gone a week.’ OK, that’s fine. But if a kid needs to go across town for two days or be gone for two days and the principal doesn’t know about it, it’s unexcused,” Davis answered, later adding “My theory is there is plenty of time in the school year to schedule a two-day trip: spring break, Thanksgiving holidays, Christmas holidays, we have numerous four-day weekends.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts declared, “We’re talking about other people’s children not your own child, Mark. I think you’re kind of stepping over into the bounds of their parenting right to say ‘I have to take my child’.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“They can take them all they want, but that absence is not going to be excused,” Davis replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Anderson clarified because the amendment reads “exceeds three days” absences up to three days for voluntary travel will be unexcused. She solicited former principal Sonya Alford’s opinion on the amendment. Alford said, “In listening to Mr. Davis, actually I could live with [his voluntary travel] policy…there are times when an administrator needed the ability to say no and as Mr. Davis pointed out the policy is pretty flexible and errs on the side of a lot of leeway, and it is difficult for a teacher…to maintain the makeup work, the re-teaching, the remediation…”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Davis added, “If an [absence] is unexcused, the teacher is not required to make it up.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Regardless of whether work was made up in grade book, Roberts declared, “that child is five steps behind all the way through school.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Maybe, and maybe I’m wrong,” Davis said, “but maybe if that happens to a couple of [kids] because mom and dad decided it was more important—”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts interjected, “How are you willing to risk a child’s education to prove an attendance point?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I’m willing to make the parents responsible for their children’s education, and right now there [are] no consequences, there is no responsibility,” Davis said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Wilkerson added, “I can understand what Mr. Davis is saying because it’s difficult. I hear teachers all the time complaining to me about having to take children who have been out of school day after day after day, and make up work. But I agree if it’s an educational trip that’s a different kind of thing. But just to stay home or go somewhere or do something they want to do, or don’t want to get up or wake up on time, that’s hard for teachers and they have enough to do without adding all this additional stuff to their day.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Anderson stated the last bullet point under excused absences (Other advanced notice absences) is not in most Florida school districts' excused absences lists, nor are several other excuses listed in the Walton County School District’s list which includes: brief student illness/injury, illness or medical care, medical/dental appointments, death of immediate family member, religious holiday, compelled absence, natural/major disaster, school-sponsored/related activity, and financial or insurmountable conditions.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Mr. Davis, I understand what you’re trying to do, and it makes good sense, I just worry about we’re going to force them to take longer time for it to be excused,” Anderson said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts added, “Far be it from me to agree with you generally, but you hit the nail on the head right there now.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]As the motion came to call, Roberts said, “I’m going to tell you what I’m going to do before we even vote. I’m going to say yes to get rid of this dumb expelling children for missing school, but I will tell you this. I’m going to tell everybody I see, ‘folks, you better at least keep them out four days.'”[/FONT]
[FONT="]The motion carried 4-0.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In closing items, Roberts sought action on the request of an employee, a bus driver, who claims her vehicle was keyed while in a secure, fenced area at Freeport Middle School and now needs to be repainted. The employee parked her vehicle in the secured area for three nights because she begins her bus route from her residence. According to the police report which Alford referenced, the gates were not locked. The school’s insurance company denied liability in the claim. Anderson recommended the district not pay to repaint the employee’s vehicle.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Holley said, “I question if you don’t have any liability it may be an improper expenditure of school board funds [to repaint the vehicle]…I don’t know the legal justification for spending the money if you’re not liable.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Holley added, “I always worry about setting a precedent…” Anderson agreed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The board moved to table the item until a copy of the denial letter from the insurance company and information on the gates being locked could be obtained. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Supt. Carlene Anderson announced school grades at a special meeting of the Walton County School Board June 30. All Walton County elementary and middle schools received an A, except Walton Middle School which earned a B. High school grades are not announced until the fall. “It took everyone to make it happen…we are so proud of their efforts,” Anderson said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Debate over the student code of conduct and attendance policies drew the brief agenda into an hour-and-half meeting.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Board member Mark Davis motioned to advertise a change to the student code of conduct that no student shall be eligible to participate in any extracurricular activities if being supervised by the Department of Juvenile Justice or Department of Corrections, including but not limited to pre-trial, post-trial, or plea supervision.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The motion carried unanimously 4-0, member Dennis Wallace absent.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The board examined the amended attendance policies which, following the previous WCSB meeting, include the changes: any student missing more than 15 days in 90 calendar days will be recommended for expulsion, voluntary travel that exceeds three days without prior administrative permission will be unexcused, and a principal shall require a physician’s statement before excusing student absences in excess of 10 days in any school year.[/FONT]
[FONT="]WCSB Attorney Ben Holley noted the Florida Statute which reads, “No student shall be suspended for unexcused tardiness, lateness, absence, or truancy,” and cautioned the WCSB it would “…never enforce…” the recommendation for expulsion for any student missing more than 15 days in 90 calendar days.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Davis, who spearheaded stricter attendance policy amendments, moved to “advertise an amendment to the rule as adopted, to strike the term ‘and recommended to the Walton County School Board for expulsion’…but also to strike the last bullet point under excused absences’ [‘Other advanced notice absences (principal approved)’].”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Board member Mildred Wilkerson gave a second to the motion.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Chairperson Sharon Roberts argued eliminating the bullet point under excused absences is “doing away with” Davis’ original amendment that voluntary travel that exceeds three days without prior administrative approval is unexcused. Davis countered, “No, if you’re gone for more than three days for voluntary travel, that’s unexcused. If you get it approved ahead of time, it’s excused... ‘Other’ could be something besides travel…‘other’ could be anything other than travel. ”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Anderson suggested moving the voluntary travel amendment from the unexcused list and to the excused list, reading, “Voluntary travel that does not exceed three days…”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“No, I don’t want to do that,” Davis said, “but I’ll tell you why, because everybody will take three-day trips.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Davis clarified “If they take a two-day trip, no matter what, it’s not excused…if they’re going to be gone for more than three days they can get the principal’s permission for their kid to be gone that long. So I’m putting the burden on [parents].”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts asked, “So you’re good with a kid missing three days in a row, but you’re not two days in a row?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“The idea is we get mom and dad in the office to say ‘I’m going to be gone a week.’ OK, that’s fine. But if a kid needs to go across town for two days or be gone for two days and the principal doesn’t know about it, it’s unexcused,” Davis answered, later adding “My theory is there is plenty of time in the school year to schedule a two-day trip: spring break, Thanksgiving holidays, Christmas holidays, we have numerous four-day weekends.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts declared, “We’re talking about other people’s children not your own child, Mark. I think you’re kind of stepping over into the bounds of their parenting right to say ‘I have to take my child’.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“They can take them all they want, but that absence is not going to be excused,” Davis replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Anderson clarified because the amendment reads “exceeds three days” absences up to three days for voluntary travel will be unexcused. She solicited former principal Sonya Alford’s opinion on the amendment. Alford said, “In listening to Mr. Davis, actually I could live with [his voluntary travel] policy…there are times when an administrator needed the ability to say no and as Mr. Davis pointed out the policy is pretty flexible and errs on the side of a lot of leeway, and it is difficult for a teacher…to maintain the makeup work, the re-teaching, the remediation…”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Davis added, “If an [absence] is unexcused, the teacher is not required to make it up.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Regardless of whether work was made up in grade book, Roberts declared, “that child is five steps behind all the way through school.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Maybe, and maybe I’m wrong,” Davis said, “but maybe if that happens to a couple of [kids] because mom and dad decided it was more important—”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts interjected, “How are you willing to risk a child’s education to prove an attendance point?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I’m willing to make the parents responsible for their children’s education, and right now there [are] no consequences, there is no responsibility,” Davis said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Wilkerson added, “I can understand what Mr. Davis is saying because it’s difficult. I hear teachers all the time complaining to me about having to take children who have been out of school day after day after day, and make up work. But I agree if it’s an educational trip that’s a different kind of thing. But just to stay home or go somewhere or do something they want to do, or don’t want to get up or wake up on time, that’s hard for teachers and they have enough to do without adding all this additional stuff to their day.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Anderson stated the last bullet point under excused absences (Other advanced notice absences) is not in most Florida school districts' excused absences lists, nor are several other excuses listed in the Walton County School District’s list which includes: brief student illness/injury, illness or medical care, medical/dental appointments, death of immediate family member, religious holiday, compelled absence, natural/major disaster, school-sponsored/related activity, and financial or insurmountable conditions.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Mr. Davis, I understand what you’re trying to do, and it makes good sense, I just worry about we’re going to force them to take longer time for it to be excused,” Anderson said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts added, “Far be it from me to agree with you generally, but you hit the nail on the head right there now.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]As the motion came to call, Roberts said, “I’m going to tell you what I’m going to do before we even vote. I’m going to say yes to get rid of this dumb expelling children for missing school, but I will tell you this. I’m going to tell everybody I see, ‘folks, you better at least keep them out four days.'”[/FONT]
[FONT="]The motion carried 4-0.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In closing items, Roberts sought action on the request of an employee, a bus driver, who claims her vehicle was keyed while in a secure, fenced area at Freeport Middle School and now needs to be repainted. The employee parked her vehicle in the secured area for three nights because she begins her bus route from her residence. According to the police report which Alford referenced, the gates were not locked. The school’s insurance company denied liability in the claim. Anderson recommended the district not pay to repaint the employee’s vehicle.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Holley said, “I question if you don’t have any liability it may be an improper expenditure of school board funds [to repaint the vehicle]…I don’t know the legal justification for spending the money if you’re not liable.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Holley added, “I always worry about setting a precedent…” Anderson agreed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The board moved to table the item until a copy of the denial letter from the insurance company and information on the gates being locked could be obtained. [/FONT]
