LITCHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION

A special meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center School gym.

 

            Board members present were: Mr. Shuhi, Chairperson; Mrs. Reardon; Messrs. Costa, Falcetti, Gorman, Noone, Simone, Tourtellotte.  Mr. Fairchild was absent.

 

            Also present were: Dr. Vita; Dr. Breslin; Mrs. Longobucco; Mrs. MacDonald; the public and the press.

 

            Mr. Shuhi noted that this meeting was called in order to seek comment from the pubic regarding a code of conduct.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Simone: to nominate Robert Petricone to moderate the hearing.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions. 

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Costa: to close the nominations.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions. 

 

            Mr. Petricone noted that this is a complicated issue and it is wise to solicit input.

 

            Mr. Crowe presented an explanation of the current Litchfield High School Code of Conduct and the procedure for implementation.  Mr. Crowe distributed copies of the “Litchfield High School Athletic Department Attendance & Substance Use Policy,” “Code of Conduct Contract for Student Athletes Litchfield Public Schools,” and Athletic Administration, Sportsmanship from the CIAC. 

 

            Some concerns were discussed including: on and off campus issues; CIAC requires only rules related to sportsmanship and wants local communities to regulate everything else; Board of Education is not involved in school rules but is involved in policies; input from legal council; tobacco issues; and Berkshire league codes.

 

            Dr. Breslin outlined the following issues: application of a code to all students and not just athletes; legal issues for extra curricular activities, co-curricular activities and curricular activities; all are different and need to be handled differently; and different scenarios regarding cheating, vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, etc.

 

            Dr. Vita noted that the code of conduct applies to students and not to staff.  The issue is whether the rules that exists should become Board Policy. The present code has evolved over the years but has not come before the Board for endorsement. Boards rarely get involved in this but input from the community will help to be reflective of the wishes of the community.  The Board is concerned with equitable exertion of the rules in the school system.  Education is the students’ right, while extra curricular activities are a privilege.  Legal action is needed when issues arise during the school day and family rights and privacy are taken into consideration.  The Board wants to help students become successful adults.  Codes of Conduct are complex.  Students are out in the community and representing Litchfield High School and are expected to positively reflect the community.  Community input is needed to better arrive at a direction that will cover most concerns.  The complication is how far to extend this code, on campus, in town, only during day?  Hopefully the community’s wishes will be reflected in the final product. 

 

Public Comment:

• What changes if the code becomes Board policy?
• Type of consequences might be different.
• If Board policy, would the consequences have to come back to the Board?
• If a school rule, then the administration would handle it, the Board becomes involved when it involves expulsion.
• Crimes would go beyond the code of conduct and would fall under Board policy.
• I do not believe student athletes should be held to a higher standard. It should include all students involved in all activities.  The Board should not act as a parent substitute.  If something happens outside of school, off campus then parents and law enforcement should handle it.
• Code of Conduct is not a Board policy.
• Board should act when something happens during the school day.  It is the parent’s job to discipline the student outside of school.
• Local police officers could arrest students.
• Parties are on weekends and involve the sports team and should be the responsibility of the school.  It takes a community to raise a child.  This could be a very gray area.
• I am not in favor of mandatory sentencing.  If we have pre-determined consequences we lose the flexibility to apply judgment.  We have a good administrator in a small community who should be flexible enough to handle with some discrimination to apply. 
• If school sponsored events with coaches come to our house then we should be in charge.  The policy should apply to all students. 
• Parents need to be parents.  If my child screws up, nothing the Board could do would be worse that what I would do.  If you take away sports you take away a student’s life for some of the athletes.
• Focus is on punishment.  Punish by giving more activities not taking them away.  When parties are at a house, parents are in charge.  How do you judge and enforce if you are not at the party? It is the parent’s responsibility. The Board should not take over the parent’s role.
• Code should be afforded to all students and not just athletes.
• One bad choice could be avoided with a code.
• I am concerned about kids’ lives being altered by being taken out of activities.
• If signing a code of conduct to not drink and they do drink and get caught, they should have consequences but we should be careful not to overstep our bounds outside of school.  Parents need to exercise their rights as parents.  I have a problem with people being expelled from school for committing a crime; kids need education. Education is more important than punishment.
• Not every parent is as scrupulous as they should be when it comes to parties. 
• Athletes still have to have a school policy for sportsmanship in order to be part of CIAC.
• Forms of punishment need to be a learning experience.
• Kids are afraid of parent’s punishment more than the school’s punishment.
• The code is subject to a range of punishment.
• Punishment is automatic when alcohol and drugs are involved; everything else is at the administrator’s discretion.
• Students need to be educated about these choices through the health program or current events about a student dying due to drugs or alcohol.
• The punishments seem to be too harsh.
• If offense calls for a suspension, then it does go on the student record.
• The college could notice a National Honor Society suspension.  Students could get suspended from the Society for other reasons too.
• The policy is easy to enforce and athletes believe in it.  If it is extended to other areas it could be a little overboard and may become too difficult to handle.
• The code should have steps in between before a student is dismissed from a team and their letter taken away.  This is too harsh and needs a little modification.
• Everything within the school system should be covered; but outside the school is not the Board’s job.
• What would happen if an athlete did not sign this?
• This is a reasonable expectation inside school and outside of school.
• Parents should not be afraid for students to take the consequence for their actions.  If they don’t do it now, what preparation will they have for the real world?  This helps me as a parent and helps kids to make better choices.  It is important to have rules and being suspended from a few games will not ruin their life.  Drugs and alcohol are illegal and they shouldn’t be involved in them.  If they are caught, they should pay the consequences. 
• I could enact rules as a parent and don’t need the school to tell me how to do this.
• I like the school to help me out with this.  I agree with the code of conduct and the sportsmanship issue.  Parents and kids speaking out of order to the refs should be more responsible and not participate in that type of activity.  It is unfortunate that parents do this.
• Legal opinion is needed before a vote on policy is held.  I feel uncomfortable putting student athletes in a special class and not other students who participate in activities.  The administration should be given more leeway to adjust punishments. 
• Student athletes should not be held to a higher standard.  Other activities should not be taken away.  All students should sign some kind of code.
• Policy has penalties for activities away from school.
• I work in the field of substance abuse and see what drugs and alcohol do to attitudes and behaviors.  These flow into schools, communities, peer pressure, peer influence, and should encompass all students.  We have to let the students know that we care about them.  I don’t believe in one strike and you are out.  They could be suspended for one or two games and referred to appropriate counseling or substance abuse awareness courses. They could be reinstated once these requirements are fulfilled.  This is a teachable moment.  Underage drinking is against the law even in a home.  Tobacco is a gateway drug for kids.  Whatever is done, it must be done with thoughtful detail.
• Fairness is a concern.  Do we lower the standard for athletes or raise the standard for others to the athletes’ standard. 
• We need a thoughtful way of raising the bar. The administrators are capable of implementing a standard that shows the students that we care about them.
• I do not appreciate the code of conduct as it is written now and we are going down a slippery slope encompassing outside activities.
• If there is information about parties, then parents and police are called.  It is responsible to interfere with these kinds of activities.  We want to know when things are happening in the community that can be damaging to students. 
• This contract can be used to save face and make better choices.  It is a tool for the student to use in that way. 
• How are incidents determined?
• Students are asked and usually admit what went on and they then take the consequences.
• Dr. Breslin is a professional and we must rely on him.
• We don’t have parents’ support for non-drinking activities such as the after prom event.  Only 22 kids participated last year. There is a serious issue with parents in this town. 

 

Dr. Vita commented that this was one of the best conversations he has heard concerning children and he appreciates everyone’s opinions and attendance here this evening. 

 

            Mr. Petricone commented that he was impressed with the reactions and respected the process.  His sense was that when activities are within the school, the Board should be involved.  However, he is concerned that the pressures of public education are enormous and adding to the responsibilities is a diversion of priorities.  Limited budgets put the Board in a difficult position.  He indicated the board’s center focus should be on enlightening, enriching and educating the students.  Education is an enormous job and that is where the focus should be.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to adjourn the meeting at 9:35 p.m.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

                                                            Respectfully submitted,

                                                            Donald Falcetti, Secretary

                                                            Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary