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School Assault Problem Debated Again By Board

School Assault Problem Debated Again By Board image
Parent Issue
Day
30
Month
April
Year
1970
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

The debate on how to eut down on the number of assaults and incidents in the secondary schools' lavatories continued last night for the sixth week at the Ann Arbor Board of Education meeting. One result of the discussion was a promise by School Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr. that he will make sure locks are provided for the hallway doors of any secondary lavatory i f requested by the principal. The locks would allow certain restrooms to be closed during evening use of the schools. Trustee Cecil W. Warner, who has been urging mandatory teacher patrol of the restrooms for several weeks now, last night suggested a new design for the lavatories, with only a four-foot-high w a 1 1 separating the lavatory from the hallway. (He suggested that each toilet cubicle have floorto-ceiling doors with locks, however, insuring total privacy.) Warner said the low hallway wall would cut dowa on incidents and assaults since anyone who walked by could see into the area where the sinks and mirrors are located. Westerman said he liked the idea, and would like to see it tried out at some new secondary schools. Warner again warned the board it is responsible for the safety of both the children and the property in the school system, according to the state school code, and he said board members could be fined and imprisoned in the County Jail if it can be proven they are neglecting their responsibilities in this area. There have been one armed robbery and seven known physical assaults in the secondary school lavatories since September, along with many verbal intimidations. After much debate, the trustees decided to delay action on the problem until a full report on assaults in the public schools - not only in the lavatories but anywhere on school property - is presented. The trustees decided this was necessary since the assault problem is not limited only to lavatories. Trustee Richard M. Wood cautioned, for example, that students who wanted to commit assaults and other acts would find another place to do so if the lavatories were "fortified." The administration again reiterated its intention not to place teachers on mandatory layatory patrol, but to continue until the end of the school year with volunteer teacher help. Westerman said he hopes to negotiate an article into the 1970-71 teachers' contract, however , which will make "more specific" the teachers' responsibility for pupil behavior in the school. The Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA) also reiterated its stand last night that it is opposed to mandatory teacher patrol of the lavatories. AAEA President David R. Harrell said "for the administration to ask for volunteer help in a crisis situation is understandable. For the board to unilaterally change a teacher's workload without negotiations will lead to a confrontation with which we are prepared to