It wasn't on the agenda but Syracuse School Board members made a point of bringing up Tasers during their monthly meeting tonight. All five commissioners on hand and the superintendent said they back the police in recent incidents at two city high schools.
“It is our expectation that our students follow our student code of conduct and exhibit appropriate behavior in our buildings,” Board of Education President Kim Rohadfox-Ceaser said.
Rohadfox-Ceaser was responding to the use of a Taser by an officer during a fight at Fowler High School on September 28, 2009. The previous Taser incident happened at Corcoran High School.
The board stressed that it didn’t want its schools to be depicted as violent places where no learning occurs. Rohadfox-Ceaser assured the public that the safety of its staff and students is their number one priority and the presence of police officers in the schools is the best way to ensure that.
Though the presence of the officers has reduced the number of fights occurring on school grounds, the board is strongly pushing the message to its students that violence is not the answer.
Superintendent Daniel Lowengard said he has been talking to Syracuse high school students about the consequences of fighting and using the Say Yes to Education program to help motivate students to stay engaged in their education and start thinking about college.
“I think when kids see a future and are engaged in their learning on a day to day basis, then the fighting thing is really reduced,” Lowengard said.
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