Portsmouth High School students might be in for a rude awakening as the school board looks to start giving Saturday detention as part of a new policy to enforce discipline.
At the Portsmouth School Board meeting last night, parents and students were enraged as this new policy was motioned.
Parent Peggy Bacon is a hardworking mother who is already struggling to get her son out of the door Monday through Friday. "I just don't think it's going to make any difference," Bacon said, "and the parents are going to pay for it- in higher taxes as well as in ruined Saturdays."
This new policy would be costing the school $3,000 to pay for teachers to come in on these Saturdays. Parents are not only worried about their children losing their weekend, but also having to pay for it.
Some residents, like Bob Farley, were in favor of this new policy and accused parents of not teaching their kids any discipline. "Parents can whine all they want about this," Farley said, "but maybe it's time parents in America were make to take a little responsibility for their kids."
School Board member Tim Steele, who proposed the policy, said that this new policy would get rid of in-house suspensions so that students would not have to miss class time and school work. He said that the major concern in the school is all of the students caught smoking in and out of the high school.
"I just want to keep students from smoking in the high school bathroom," Steele said, "there are other problems but smoking is by far the biggest one."
Along with parents, 5 Portsmouth High School students also attended the meeting.
Senior Lisa Gallagher, who has never had a detention in her life, does not think that the policy is necessary. "I think it's just being done to make life easier for the faculty, so they don't have to deal with detentions during the week," Gallagher said.
The board voted 5-3 with one member deciding to have the issue brought up at the next meeting and for Steele to return with a clearer plan for the policy.
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