Students will not be sent home
for some violations next year
By:Sally Goldenberg
Suspended students in Manville High School and the Alexander Batcho Intermediate School will no longer get a day off from school as of September.
The Manville Board of Education approved hiring an in-school suspension monitor for students in grades six through 12 at Tuesday night’s meeting.
At a salary of $47,360, Steven Gordon, who has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina, will monitor the penalized students.
James Brunn, principal of ABIS, said the monitor will probably deter students from misbehaving.
"I’ve heard kids say that ‘I don’t want to be in in-school suspension,’" Dr. Brunn said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
Dr. Brunn said he suspends about 10 students a month, typically for wrongdoings that land them in detention five or more times in 30 days.
Students who previously got a day off from school will now receive "positive feedback about the infractions" from Mr. Gordon, Dr. Brunn said.
"It’s being proactive because you’re going to be trying to determine the cause of the behavior," he said.
In addition, they’ll do school work while with the monitor, he said.
"It won’t just be, you go in, you sit for several hours, you go home," he added.
But board member Jeanne Golden-Nowak, who voted against the monitor, said the district could save money by hiring a younger teacher for a lower salary to do the job.
"I think that we could get a new teacher to do that, like a kid that’s just getting out of college," she said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "It comes down to more like a baby-sitting position. I think that we can get a new teacher to do that. It’s not that it’s academics."
During her 32 years of employment in the district, the former secretary said teachers used to take turns monitoring in-school suspension. Though union laws protecting teachers have changed, she said there are still cheaper ways to have in-school suspension.
The in-school suspension monitor was one of the district’s enhancements included in the $13.8 million 2003-04 operating budget, which passed on April 15.
"We’re trying to use an in-school suspension monitor as a way to improve student behavior," said Superintendent of Schools Donald Burkhardt.
If the monitor has no students to work with, he will be used as a substitute teacher, Dr. Burkhardt added.
High School Principal Rodney Logan did not return a call for comment as of press time. Vice Principal Mary McLaughlin, who declined to disclose details about suspension, said she welcomes the change in disciplinary procedures.
Ms. McLaughlin, who is in charge of discipline at the high school, said Wednesday that staying in school during suspension is "more of a deterrent for kids" who misbehave.

