Bellaire maps disciplinary school policy

By MICHAEL SCHULER, Times Leader Staff Writer
BELLAIRE — The Bellaire Local School District is looking at options regarding disciplining of students, considering recommendations presented by teachers from all three of the district’s school buildings during Monday’s regular board of education meeting.

Committees made up of teachers and principals from the elementary, middle and high school were formed and made their presentations, with the middle school and high school committees calling for many of the same changes.

Disciplinary changes for the elementary school included a ban on flip-flop and high heel shoes and no “extreme” hair colors. The elementary school committee also called for additional discipline training for substitute teachers and changes in how the building addresses students who do not complete homework.

At the middle and high school, the committees are each recommending the district adopt uniformed policies to provide students with “consistency and structure from building to building.”

The middle school’s committee is also recommending stricter enforcement of the demerit system, including assigning in-school suspension to those who accumulate five behavior demerits in a quarter and that in-school suspension be more structured. The committee also called for improvements to the dress code.

Some of the high school’s committee recommendations include the elimination of all written and verbal warnings, saying that each student has a handbook and is aware of the rules. That committee is also calling for non-negotiable detentions and called the truancy policy too lenient.

The high school committee also recommended policies regarding cellular phones and other electronics needs to be updated and called for a ban devices that “interfere with the education al process or could be used for cheating.”

Other recommendations were for changes to policies regarding student absenteeism and elimination of the one free skip without consequence rule.

In other news, the district accepted a $1,000 in merchandise at Bridgeport Equipment donation from Erb Electric.

The board also renewed an agreement with ParentBroadcast. According to Superintendent John Stinoski, the company had lowered its prices and the district will now be able to use the service to send non-emergency messages.

The board also recognized students from the career connections class who recently took first place in the Belmont County Knowledge Bowl and finished 10th in the state competition.

Prior to adjourning, the board met in executive session to discuss personnel employment, negotiations, parent concern and a personnel hearing.

Schuler can be reached at shoe@timesleaderonline.com