Barberton Students Suspended Over Flier

Friday, September 29, 2006 Download  RSS  Short URL  Share

This week, twenty students were suspended from Barberton High School near Akron for planning a walk out in support of their teachers who may go on strike next week. ideastream's Lisa Ann Pinkerton reports.

The suspensions are over student fliers that promoted a walk out on October 9th, the day Barberton teachers have planned for a strike. The three students who created the fliers have been suspended for two days, with one-day suspensions going to the 17 students who helped circulate the fliers - even though none of the students actually attempted the walk out. Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli says the measures were taken because the fliers themselves violated student conduct codes and created a potential safety issue.

Elizabeth Lolli: Schools are responsible for student safety and freedom of speech only goes so far in a school environment. You can’t have chaos and you can’t have students acting out because they feel a certain way about a certain topic.

Next Tuesday, a federal mediator will meet with the district and teachers to reach a compromise on the contract. At issue are compensation and insurance, which would increase teacher’s healthcare costs to an average of $85 a month over the next three years. Lisa Ann Pinkerton, 90.3.