Actions by the few affect the many
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November 7, 2012 |
In the wake of a series of several serious
hoaxes, many in the community are fed up. None
more so than Boundary County School District 101
Superintendent Dick Conley. He sincerely detests
that a lot of great students are being daubed
with the rough brush of what appears to be a
single classmate, at most a few, and he
sincerely regrets that so many will pay the
price.
"I haven't really been here that long," Conley
said, "But I've grown used to hearing how great
the students of Boundary County are. No matter
where they go, a game, a tournament, an academic
event, I've always taken calls giving the
highest compliments to our students ... how well
behaved, how well mannered, how sportsmanlike."
He is concerned, he said, that all the good
things accomplished by the students of this
district, many and varied, will be overshadowed
by the poor reputation invested by all the hype
and hoopla of being known as "that school with
all the fake bomb threats."
Whoever is perpetrating the scandal has, for a
time, the upper hand. Neither the district nor
the local community can afford to take the
threats lightly. If they get complacent, people,
our kids and our teachers, could die.
No matter how juvenile or far fetched, no threat
can be ignored, as the tragic headlines of
recent years bear witness, so each results in an
overwhelming response, unneeded so far.
When it comes to the safety of our kids,
safe will always be better than sorry, and cost
isn't factored in until after.
And the cost is dear. The taxpayers will bear
that burden, a cost not included in the budget.
According to Conley, students will, too. And
they won't like it.
"It's clear that, as a whole, our students
aren't capable of supervising themselves," he
said. "As a result, we will supervise them
more."
A student needing to go to the restroom will no
longer be able to get up and run; if he or she
leaves without signing out of class, telling
where they're going, when they'll get there and
when they'll be back, eyes will be upon them.
Every hour, restrooms will be inspected; if a
"note" is found, police won't have to sort
through the more than 1,500 student's pictures
to see who went in; they'll have a much
condensed group of potential suspects.
It may sound arcane.
If the evidence holds, some kid is depriving
students of an education and wasting the time
and money of a county.
And if it's discovered that someone knew and
didn't say? Yep ... a federal offense.
"Parent's don't understand how very serious this
is," Conley said. "This won't be viewed as a
prank." |
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