My Local School Board and Sheriff is Crazy

So some backstory:
During midterm elections two new folks got voted onto the school board. At the next meeting they called for the resignation of the superintendent (who was doing a pretty good job) and got one of the other 3 members on board with them so he was ousted. Unelected person gets put into superintendent position (backed by DeSantis, Sheriff Ivey, and all the local baptists).
Today, superintendent and sheriff announce a new “discipline policy“ that hasn’t been defined yet but will be “prolific”. Sheriff actually referred to kids as “snots”.

This looks like they are forgoing discipline in favor of punishment forgetting that these students are kids and need to be taught/corrected, not thrown the book at for minor issues. Oh, and in a state that’s already in last 10 for education.

I have met Sheriff Ivey in person and he comes off as very two-faced. I don’t trust him at all (and he has some shady crap in his background).

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In 1984 there was a massive task force operation/drug bust at my districts high school. Hundreds of arrests and an incredible volume of drugs and weapons confiscated.

Then in '88 there was another one that I got snagged up in which was only about half the size, but still pretty damn big.

They were even warning the entire student body over the morning announcements that the park and surrounding area were under police surveillance. Nobody cared.

I got expelled and was signed up in a neighboring district within a week.

Anyways, not for nothing, but by the time anything is being decided at the board or county levels, that horse has long left the barn, and the kids that are causing the problems are wayyyyy beyond feeling the effects of punitive action.

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It’s a pretty sleepy area here. Biggest drug is meth, but thats in other parts of the district (our district is huge because the county is 72x8 miles)

I’ll have to take your word on that, but for purposes of discussion I’m on Team Sherriff Ivey.

“Snots” is as good of a word as any to use when you’re talking about an otherwise innocent, ill-mannered child with a serious parenting deficiency, but I understand why parents of snots will take offense when their little snot gets called out and confronted about their snotty behavior. I’m not saying you’re raising snots personally, I’m just saying you’re being sympathetic to little obnoxious snots who need to be confronted and dealt with in public schools.

To be specific, I like the 5 tiers of consequences he has laid out. I find them both tolerant and meaningful. Public schools need to re-instate meaningful standards, and it all starts with basic behavioral standards.

EDIT: I just re-read the article and see that they are the existing standards. I still like them, but I can’t pass judgement on the new Sherriff until it is made clear how he will do something egregious to make them worse. For now I like his tone, because little snots are very real, very disruptive, and most importantly very correctible.

There are no higher academic standards being met or surpassed when the classroom is a chaotic mess. I’m all for keeping the door open to kids in bad circumstances and making sure they have a path to an education, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have standards that keep the herd moving in a good direction.

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They amended the article with the current standards after I initially read it.
I think the current standards are working (as it states that the amount of disciplinary actions is on par with other parts of the state).
One problem I have is that they made this grandiose gesture of a press conference specifically to announce a new policy when they don’t actually have any. They hardly even have a plan other than some rhetoric that kind of sounds like “beatings will continue until morale improves”.

I think we are in agreement that one or two minor mistakes should ruin a kids life before it even gets started. (Level 5 from the article the exception here).

Until parents are held accountable, most of the interventions school try will fall short. They punish the wrong party. Now, if they had more male teachers and the women stood aside and let the men address issues as men, you might see some progress.

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I think The Substitute should be required viewing for teachers in K-12 at the start of every school year.

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Update: All school officers this week started carrying semi-auto rifles.
Not in their car or office, on their person at all times.

I am pro gun but this is not something they need to be carrying. I am perfectly okay with a pistol on their hip (because violence does happen) but it seems more of a scare tactic given what was said in the press conference.