Caught smoking? He's the man to see

1. What are some of the troubles kids get into?

A lot of our problems actually stem from kids getting in trouble outside of school and then they tend to bring it to school and we have to deal with it ... over boyfriend, girlfriend stuff. Some of them over some family things that get pulled into school. Occasionally, we have someone who drinks when they come to school, drugs, but not very often. That is really way down over the last 10 years.

2. Do you handle the discipline at the high school?

Yeah, anything that comes from teachers, anything that comes from extracurricular. The athletics is a little different.

3. Has the type of trouble kids get into changed over the years and can you give some examples?

We don't have as much defiance as we had, say 10 or 12 years ago, and I think a lot of that is due to the Ohio Graduation Test. Before we had the test, a kid could fail a class, he could go to summer school but there was really nothing that was ever accountable, that was hanging over his head. There was always a way out. When we got to the proficiency test there really is no way out anymore. You have to pass that to graduate.

4. Do you spank children or is that a thing of the past?

The state of Ohio says we really shouldn't do that anymore. I don't know how many years ago they changed, probably 20 years ago. But, yeah, when I first started this job it was nothing unusual to paddle a kid, almost one a day, for something. Now I don't know if that did any good. ... We did it more to embarrass the kid, I think, than to hurt them. ... It's been a thing of the past. It's gone. In this day and age, the way Children Services operates, you couldn't make that fly anymore.

5. Is there a demerit system in which you earn so many demerits and you get suspended?

Yes. We usually use our demerit system for stuff that is just common classroom things. A kid forgets his book or just doesn't want to bring it for four or five days because he just doesn't want to carry it or they're sleeping in class three or four straight days in a row. ... We kind of have a cutoff point with 12 demerits. Very seldom do they get suspended. I usually send them to the alternative school because they can do their work and they're not really penalized anything other than they're not here.

6. Does the school have after-school detention as an alternative punishment?

Detention is strictly for kids who can't get to school on time. After X number of times tardy we make them come in, I think it starts at 7:30 a.m. and we start school at 8:15 a.m. ... We dismiss them at 8:05 a.m. ... We also have Saturday school primarily for kids who skip school.

7. What's the funniest thing that you remember connected to discipline?

You got three hours? Probably the funniest thing I've ever had, the guys who were involved in it, they remind me about it when I see them at football games. It was probably 18 years ago and I was the one who caught them smoking but I didn't tell them that. One of the teachers went out ... they were out behind the building ... They came in and, of course, they weren't doing it, they were framed, they were just outside getting some fresh air. We talked this out for about a half-hour and neither one of them would really admit what they were doing so I told the one, "You know you have got an awful lot of demerits. I don't think anyone gave you permission to go outside, did they?" So I said, "If I give you demerits, I'm probably going to have to suspend you for five days." He said, "What's the penalty for smoking?" I said five days of in-school suspension. He said, "I'm your man. I did it." ... They were both seniors and it was in the spring and it was getting close to nitty-gritty in terms of graduating and making sure you got your credits. He couldn't stand to be out for 10 days. They both laugh about it now and he has two kids who go here now.

8. What does it take to be suspended?

Drugs, that will get you every time but I think that's pretty general in all schools ... if you have some anger problems where you want to bully somebody or you want to fight. Usually the first time, we talk to them. If they fight, they get suspended the first time ... if they continue to do it then they're looking at expulsion.

9. What types of trouble earn an automatic expulsion?

I don't expel many people any more. It used to be right and left. It's for a semester or 90 days, whatever you prefer. Bullying would be one where you're making it unsafe for other kids to be here. Just plain downright fighting ... if we catch them smoking twice that usually ends up being expulsion. Those are the big three. Occasionally, you have somebody who just can't follow the rules. After maybe getting the court involved, after using the alternate school and after having his parents in numerous times and the kid still can't behave he's going to be expelled.