Posted on 12/14/2006 9:23:06 AM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Plainfield Student's Parents Say The Punishment Doesn't Make Sense
(CBS) PLAINFIELD, Ill. -- A 13-year-old Plainfield boy and his parents are stunned and outraged after the teen found a gun in school and turned it in to authorities, who then expelled him.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports Ryan Morgan's parents and supporters attended the school board meeting Wednesday evening to try to fight the expulsion. They believe the punishment, and the subsequent alternative school option, are not the proper responses to a mistake made by a teenage boy.
Ryan Morgan, 13, says he pocketed a pellet gun he and a friend found in their school's bathroom to keep people safe. Morgan's mother says a short time later Morgan gave the gun to the Troy Middle School assistant principal.
"I told him maybe that wasn't the best decision, to remove that gun, but it did lead to you finding the culprit, he was arrested and to put my son in alternative school -- he has no behavior problems," Audrey Morgan, Ryan's mother, said.
The Morgans say there was no reasoning with the principal or with the school superintendent.
"He said, 'The board can give your son full two-year expulsion, I'm asking you not to go before them,'" Audrey Morgan said.
They went anyway, saying they had nothing to lose, only to see the meeting minutes already recommend expulsion.
Roy Morgan says he can't accept that, but accepts his son's decision.
"He said 'I'm going to turn this in' and you know what, I commend my son for making that decision. It was the right decision," he said.
School board officials issued a statement Wednesday night saying due to confidentiality reasons they can't discuss the specifics of this case, but that "purposeful possession of weapons is a serious offense and deserves careful consideration by the administration and the school board."
"The idiots are teaching children in the public school system?"
Even in relatively sane communitiies public schools are islands of chronic mental illness.
The stupidity of PC America again.
Zero Intelligence policies are a tool for lazy gutless administrators to hide behind. There is no law against using common sense. However, kids who are subjected to such nonsense are marked for life. Thirteen years old is too early to learn that life is so unfair.
Those cretins have no concept of the messages they're giving our children. Pathetic.
I can understand if they don't want children touching weapons, even if they find them (accidents do happen), but expulsion is so grossly disproportionate the board can't be taken as a serious group of adults.
Probably not a bad policy, given the tendency of intoxicated college boys to discharge chemical fire extinguishers for fun.
The one day we had fire in the dorm. It was found while still small, and rapidly extinguished with fire extinguishers. The school administration, far from handing out kudos for quick action that saved the dorm, handed out bills to have the fire extinguisher's recharged. Because there was no exception to the "fine them for discharged fire extinguishers" policy, for fire extinguishers actually used on a fire.
As H.L. Menkin (I think) said: A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a small mind.
I'm thinking Lawsuit......
One example of how rabid, attack dog attorneys can be usefull.
Let em sue, let em sue, let em sue..........
The students should invoice the school for the cost of dischage fee AND the cost of their time. I'd say $1000.00/second for hazard duty pay. Minimum fee for services 15 minutes. Let's see that 900 seconds so that is $900,000.
Given the cost of the dorm its a bargain!
I suggest that for 25% fee Free Republic would be the negotiator and the school could pay Jim a year's worth of Freeper time and effort! Win Win all around!
More to this story BUMP.
If you believe this story so far, then, at a minimum, the kid needs to learn a lesson about picking up guns. Maybe not expulsion, but a strong lesson.
Utter stupidity. This attitude is what is killing us.
Why do I think of South Park and this happening to Butters?
Yes, that's what I thought also. Sounds to me like he new he was going to get busted and offered the weapon up saying "look what I just found".
Complete speculation on my part though.
Seems like the young man found the pellet gun and intended to keep it until he realised he was caught. Different story than what the mom said.
I'll bet money that even with this revelation, there is more that is not being told that would not put this young man in a good light.
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