Meeting Story Exercise

Saturday Morning Cartoons Or Saturday Morning School -- Who Decides?
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - A Portsmouth School Board discussion that took place at 7:30 p.m. yesterday evening raised the issue of Saturday morning school for troubled children. Is the biggest trouble of them all not allowing them their Saturday morning cartoons and family time?

When the board brought up new business, new issues were raised. Time Steele, a School Board member, made a motion to approve a new policy that would require students who have disciplinary problems during the week to return to school for a special Saturday morning session. He noted the session would run from 8 a.m. until noon, several weekends in a row.

But what will happen to those who miss the Saturday morning session? This question was on many of the meeting members minds. "If a student skips Saturday School, he or she would not be allowed to return to school until the detention has been served," Steele said.

Many were outraged. Peggy Bacon, a parent of a child in the Portsmouth School district was less than satisfied with this idea. "I work six days a week -- including Saturday morning -- and it's bad enough to get my son off to school Monday through Friday." Many concerns were raised if Steele was to get his way. "I just don't think it is going to make any difference -- and the parents are going to have to pay for it -- in higher taxes as well as ruined Saturdays," Bacon said.

Lisa Gallagher, a senior at Portsmouth High School agrees with Bacon. "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." Many others were outraged as well at this idea, but that doesn't mean all were. Every story has two sides.

Steele expressed the reason that the new disciplinary measure is being proposed is in an effort to reduce the number of in-house suspensions. He said that in-house suspensions are given automatically to students whom are caught smoking and that maybe this discipinary board will reduce the amount of students breaking the rules.

Bob Farley, a resident to the town of Portsmouth stood up in Steeles deffence. "Parents can whine all they want about this, but maybe it's time parents in America were made to take a little responsibility for their kids." Farley goes on to explain that parents have not been teaching their kids any discipline, which is why some kids fail to have respect in the classroom. "Maybe if they have to miss a few Saturday morning cartoons they'll start wising up," said Farley.

A heated discussion of this issue occupied 30 minutes of the Monday night meeting. The conclusion of the discussion was brought about when the board voted 5-3, with one member abstaining, to table the issue until their next meeting on March 7. With this, Steele was instructed to return on March 7 with figures on in-school detentions so far this year.

Other issues were as well discussed. Superintendent of Schools, Nathan Greenberg delivered an administrative report detailing the Schools effort to push forward a $21 million budget for the next school year. A special citizens committee was formed to review how other communities fund education with their tax dollars since the $21 million budget represents an increse of 5.5 percent over the current year's spending.

The impact of the schools decision to bring about Saturday morning school will just have to wait until next month and after other issues are discussed. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m.