School board holds firm (Lee County, Georgia)

Albany Herald ^ | 5/14/02 | VALERIE BENTON

[CFW]

LEESBURG — The clock is ticking as Lee County High School senior Chet Maine and a group of supporters press the Lee County School Board to reinstate him in time to graduate on May 24.

But school board members refused to hear Maine's pleas Monday night after issuing their own statement regarding the student's May 6 expulsion resulting from his violation of a zero-tolerance law for weapons on school grounds.

Board Chairwoman Sylvia Vann, reading from a prepared statement, defended Superintendent Bill Lewis by saying that he did not have a role in the decision to expel Maine. Vann said a tribunal decided Maine's expulsion, and the school board chose not to override the tribunal's decision. Vann said the board is aware of its authority to scrutinize each incident on a case-by-case basis.

In Maine's situation, the 18-year-old senior was suspended on April 30 after a resource officer found knives lodged in the bed of his pickup truck at school. Maine said the knives were left over from a weekend camping trip.

Nearly 75 supporters rallied at the school board's business meeting attempting to get Maine reinstated.

Despite the board's refusal to hear their comments, Richard Pfeiffer led the group in an open discussion and conducted a news conference after the board convened at about 6:30 p.m. Pfeiffer said he had collected 1,400 signatures on a petition in support of their demands.

Pfeiffer was denied an opportunity to speak to the school board because policy allows public appearances only during planning meetings, Vann said. Pfeiffer had addressed the board at the May 6 planning meeting.

Maine said his mother, Candace Macheers, is taking steps to appeal the board's decision to the state Board of Education, but added "It may be too late."

If he is not allowed to graduate with his class, Maine says he'll get his graduation equivalency diploma. Holding up his red graduation cap and gown before the crowd, Maine said, "I may as well burn this."

The group is planning another public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lee County governmental building in downtown Leesburg to discuss legal action, Pfeiffer said.

In other business, the school board presented its preliminary 2003 fiscal year budget totaling $38.9 million. The spending plan reflects a decrease over last fiscal year's $41.6 million budget.

Lee County's assistant superintendent of financial services, Gary Kelley, said there's a reduction in the new spending plan because the major costs of construction for the county's new middle school are complete.

He said the plan includes the costs of furnishing the new school and reflects a 3.25 percent increase in teacher salaries.

[freedomcrusader]

Vann said a tribunal decided Maine's expulsion, and the school board chose not to override the tribunal's decision.

Well then, the voters will simply have to hold the school-board accountable at the next election. Unfortunately for Chet Maine, he learned a lesson about the insanity of gov't run education and irrational fear of firearms the hard way.

[Tuor]

They weren't even firearms, but knives, according to the article.

Tuor

[freedomcrusader]

Right, but my point was that irrational fear of firearms is what led to the zero-tolerance policy. Although, I suppose it really is irrational fear of any instrument that can be called a weapon, not just firearms, that led to the policy.

[freedomcrusader]

Yep, a lot of things can be repurposed as weapons. I was thinking the same thing about pencils when I wrote my post.

[The Other Harry]

Zero tolerance. Zero judgement. Zero brains. Zero education. That's the public school system.

[blackdog]

Did you notice he had knives "Lodged" in the back of his truck? Not laying in his truck, not resting in his truck, not stored in his truck, not even hidden in his truck.

How about searching the cars of all the school board members while they are busy holding a meeting and parked on school property? What do ya think we might find that we can expell them for?

[concerned about politics]

Once the students are dehumanized enough, the suggestions from the teachers will enter the students subconscience mind without a struggle. The mental blocks have been forceably removed.
Dehumanize, then brainwash.
It's an ancient evil, but it's still used in the classrooms today.
It's a technique of punishment and reward. Punish the free will, reward robotics. Eventually, the childrens minds are conditioned to obey.

[concerned about politics]

PS....An example.

Feel free to wear a straight pride or pro-life t-shirt, and you'll suffer harassment and dehumanizing throughout the day.
Wear a pro-sodomite or pro-death t-shirt, and recieve praise.
Eventually, the student learns straight and life = BAD.
sodomy and abortion = GOOD.
Both should be Constitutional rights and freedoms that should come first, but not in the indoctrination centers of today. They chose your 'fee will' for you.

[archy]

Since Lee County High School student Chet Maine was a senior class member and presumably over 17 years of age, it looks like the Lee County School Board are felons, facing 10 years imprisonment for their criminal violations. If anyone wants to take any of them in custody, the law provides that reasonable force, to include lethal force, may be employed against them should they resist. And Georgia law provides that any citizen can take a felon into custody:

U.S. Code, title 10, Section 311:
Militia: composition and classes

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

US Constitution, Amendment II:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Title 18, U.S. Code, U.S. Criminal Code, Section 241:
Conspiracy against rights:

If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or

If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured -

They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death Title 18 U.S. Code, US Criminal Code, Section 242:
- Deprivation of rights under color of law :

Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death

[Tuor]

Although, I suppose it really is irrational fear of any instrument that can be called a weapon, not just firearms, that led to the policy.

I would say it is an irrational fear of human nature and freedom. A man with a knife or a gun has choices that those without do not have. Having weapons -- even martial arts training -- requires a certain level of personal responsibility: liberals believe that the individual is not capable of maintaining the sort of responsibility that comes with being able to initiate violence. They have no faith in human beings, but only in humanity (when properly constituted with people who have no individual thoughts).

Liberals, in my view, are more pessimistic about human nature than any other group of people on the planet. By trying to subvert or ignore human nature, they send it into the dark regions of the consciousness, where it grows in darkness and bears unseen fruit which, all too often, finally comes back to them as a hideous beast that tramples and devours because it was never recognized, civilized, and properly trained...only kept in the dark or ridiculed and abused on the rare occasions that any notice was given to it.

I realize this is a rambling sort of post (I'm pretty tired), but it does make sense to me. I'm just having a problem translating it so that everyone else can understand it, too.

Tuor

[Amelia]

There are many things in school more lethal than some of the "weapons" students have been expelled for. Why, I was supervising students who were using razor-sharp scalpels for dissecting just last week.

[ladylib]

If parents are unhappy about this, they should just pull their kids out. Would you want to send your child to a school where his future could be ruined by a bunch of jackasses? With all the insane nonsense (the thong detecting principal in CA, the idiotic principal in CO who made a real big deal out of a bunch of kids shooting their fingers, and this case), what parent in their right mind would take the chance? Too many stupid people have too much power to ruin too many kids' lives! A public school education isn't worth it.

[jragan2001]

Very likely this school board is run by a bunch of non-thinking baby-boomers who were the same bunch of idiots who ran around in the 1960's hating everything American and burning bras and American flags. No wonder our school systems are moronic failures.