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Show MandBircg ov Ireland vrnp questioned at board meet The Uintah School Board stood 100 behind the decision to cancel the U'et-tes U'et-tes Drill Team's trip to Ireland, despite "feelings of dismay, anger, and disgust" by several Vernal residents present at last week's meeting. Elouise Turner, board president, told those present at the board meeting Feb. 12, that the board is 100 behind the decision of the principal, Bill Caldwell, to cancel the trip to Ireland because the principal is better qualified to make the decision. "It needs to be made perfectly clear the decision to cancel the drill team's trip to Ireland was in the hands of the administration of Uintah High School," Superintendent Wayne Reid said. "Decisions of this type are not easy to come by." "Our presence here tonight is not to request a change in the decision to cancel the drill team's trip to Ireland," said K. Dirk Evertsen, chairman of the parent's committee. "What we have come for is to present the feelings of anger, dismay and disgust of the community at the way the entire matter was handled," EverLson said at the meeting. After reading a three-page statement on the cancelation of the trip to Ireland which stated the whole thing "devolved into a set up," Evertsen asked the board to respond to three questions: Will an apology be given to the drill team, Mrs. Kearl and the community? Will the money and donations made be returned in full? Will something be done to shift emphasis in our education to a more central position and show some emphasis on cultural education? "I feel that the administration owes the girls, Mrs. Kearl and the community communi-ty an apology," Evertsen said. "If it were not appropriate to allow the girls to go to Ireland on Feb. 2, then it was also not appropriate for them to go last November when the board was first contacted." (The complete statement by Evertsen can be read on the Editorial page of this week's Express.) "I feel whole heartedly that it is a disgrace," said Woodey B. Searle who was at the meeting. Searle indicated that he would lend to any of the girls the money needed for the trip, interest free, and if the girls would have raised money within a few thousand dollars of the needed amount, he would have donated the rest. Mrs. Turner said that the board would make no decision on the matter in the meeting, but would discuss it in executive session, with the board's decision to be made public later. In other business, the board heard the concern of Art Allred on corporal punishment at the Uintah High School. Allred said that his son was swatted at the high school and was caught high in the back with the paddle which caused considerable pain. Dan Good, assistant principal, in a written statement to the board on swats at the high school said, "When I came to Uintah, there was definite need of more and a different approach to discipline." Good said that the in school suspension suspen-sion used the previous year proved extremely ex-tremely expensive, and a rather ineffective inef-fective method of discipline. "Tardies and sluffing were abundant and some action needed to be taken." The discipline policy of the school as stated in the student handbook, is detention for tardies, sluffing, insolence, in-solence, etc. "Tardies became the main problem," pro-blem," Good reports, "and after the first quarter we reduced the detention for four tardies in various classes from two to one hour detention, and changed j the number of tardies from four tardies in various classes to three per class before detention is assigned." According to school policy corporal punishment, (swats) has never been assigned to a student. If the student desires the swat, then one swat makes up for one hour of detention. The board referred Allred to the report by Good, and told Allred to come back if he had further complaints. The board also moved to drop the mid-year conference and President's Holiday from next year's school calendar calen-dar and to start school two days later than this year. |