Caverna Chairwoman Jennifer Briggs (center) questioned if Assistant Principal Natasha Jackson-Hayes felt that she was opening herself up to liability within the current language of the student handbook. She responded that she did not and deferred to the district’s policies. Gage Wilson/For Glasgow News 1
By GAGE WILSON
For Glasgow News 1
Discussion at the Caverna Board of Education’s July meeting centered on staff dress expectations and discipline language in the district’s employee and student handbooks. Board members also approved a construction project to add an overhead door to the district’s industrial maintenance lab.
Board member Allison Dennison first raised questions about the employee handbook, noting it did not include a staff dress code similar to the one outlined for students.
“I do not see a dress code in here for employees,” she said. “I just feel like if we have one for the students we should have one for the teachers also.”
Superintendent Amanda Abell said the board could choose to implement a dress code for employees, but noted any decision would need to be made quickly, as the handbook is scheduled to go out to district staff next week.
Chairwoman Jennifer Briggs suggested surveying teachers to get a sense of what they view as appropriate attire.
“I know in some districts teachers can’t wear tennis shoes,” she said. “So, I’d just like to know what their expectations are.”
Abell added that dress-related concerns are typically handled by school principals and advised the board to remain flexible for the comfort of district staff.
“I’m not trying to nitpick,” Dennison said. “I just know if I was a student and I saw a teacher wearing something that I get wrote up for…, I just feel like we need to be fair across the board on this.”
Dennison said she understood if the issue could not be addressed for the coming school year, but asked the board to keep it in mind for next year to give faculty time to weigh in on what is and is not comfortable for staff.
The board approved the employee handbook without amendments.
Board members also raised questions about discipline language in the student handbook, particularly the use of the phrase “principal discretion,” which some felt was too broad.
Dennison said her concern was that district policies could be overridden by a principal, potentially creating a gray area where the school or staff could be exposed to liability.
Using fighting as an example, Dennison noted district policy states a first offense may result in one-to-five days of in-school suspension, while also saying the punishment is subject to the discretion of the principal.
“If I read correctly, they just can’t give more than what the district is wanting to give,” Dennison said.
She asked whether a student who repeatedly violated the rules could be disciplined at a principal’s discretion up to expulsion, or whether administrators would still have to operate within the district’s outlined punishment guidelines.
Caverna High School Assistant Principal Natasha Jackson-Hayes, who was present at the meeting, said discipline decisions often depend on the circumstances of each case.
“Each situation is different,” Jackson-Hayes said. “So if I’m the instigator of a fight, I’m going to have a more severe punishment, whereas if I’m a victim and was just fighting back, I still have broken school rules, but it would not be an equal punishment.”
Because the item was listed as a review, no vote was required on the student handbook, though board members indicated they felt more comfortable with the language after hearing Jackson-Hayes explain how it is applied in practice.
The board also approved moving forward with a project to install a new overhead door at the district’s industrial maintenance lab. Abell said the work can be handled as a change order under the district’s existing construction project through a partnership with T. Marzetti, meaning a new BG-1 would not be required.
The door will be placed at the front of the building, as the school’s welding unit occupies the side of the facility, Abell said. She added the new access point will make it easier to move equipment into the lab, as the current layout makes transporting industrial equipment through the building difficult and, in some cases, impossible.
The board is expected to take up the formal change order at its next meeting.
The Caverna Board of Education will next meet Aug. 6 at 5 p.m.
Key facts
• Caverna Board of Education’s July meeting focused on staff dress expectations and discipline language.
• Board member Allison Dennison questioned why staff have no written dress code while students do.
• Members also raised concerns about broad “principal discretion” wording in the student handbook.
• Assistant Principal Natasha Jackson-Hayes explained how discipline decisions vary by situation.
• The board approved the employee handbook without changes.
• Members also approved adding an overhead door to the district’s industrial maintenance lab to improve equipment access.
• The board is expected to take up the formal change order for the project at its next meeting.
• The Caverna Board of Education is scheduled to meet again Aug. 6 at 5 p.m.
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