A June 15 report to the Fayette County Board of Education by Safety and Discipline Coordinator Steve Greene showed more than 8,400 discipline events at Fayette schools during the 2014-2015 school year. That number was down from 9,065 infractions the previous year.
Fayette’s five high schools reported seven cases of weapons possession, four sexual offenses, two robberies, 41 fighting infractions, two infractions for pornography and 128 instances of profanity.
Fayette’s five middle schools reported 17 infractions for sexual harassment, 34 fights, 47 thefts or vandalism, 112 instances of profanity, 13 instances of battery and three infractions for pornography.
Categorized across all 14 elementary schools, physical aggression led the list with 248 infractions followed by 231 for inappropriate behavior, 98 referrals to the office, 45 infractions for theft or vandalism and 36 threats or intimidation.
Elementary schools also reported one sexual offense, one weapons possession and four fights.
A breakdown of the disciplinary events showed 5,010 at county high schools, 2,280 incidents at middle schools and 1,115 at elementary schools.
The list of infractions is lengthy and covers events ranging from minor to illegal. A sampling of the infractions include having gum or candy, dress code violations, being tardy to class or school, academic dishonesty, physical aggression, possession of alcohol or drugs, profanity and pornography.
In terms of the 5,010 infractions at high schools, Fayette County High had 1,535, followed by McIntosh with 950, Sandy Creek with 725, Starr’s Mill with 657, Whitewater with 554, the Alternative School with 453 and the Open Campus school with 136.
Categorized across all high schools, being tardy led the list with 1,295 followed by 381 electronic communication device infractions, 314 referrals to the office, 280 not following instructions and 253 infractions for inappropriate behavior.
The 2,280 infractions at middle schools had Bennett’s Mill with 584, Booth with 500, Whitewater with 457, Flat Rock with 432 and Rising Starr with 307.
Categorized across all middle schools, there were 210 infractions for inappropriate behavior, 179 electronic communication device infractions, 163 acts of physical aggression, 153 instances of disruptive behavior and 114 infractions for disrespect or insubordination.
The 1,115 infractions at elementary school had Peeples with 163, Burch with 162, Cleveland with 128, Fayetteville with 92, Spring Hill with 90, North Fayette with 90, Oak Grove with 81, Minter with 68, Huddleston with 65, Inman with 46, Kedron with 43, Braelinn with 38, Crabapple with 26 and Peachtree City with 23.
While the 2014-2015 school year had significant discipline events, the numbers are smaller than those in the 2013—2014 school year. In that year there were a total of 9,065 events across they system, with 5,211 events at high schools, 2,613 at middle schools and 1,241 at elementary schools.
The largest improvement over the two-year period came at Sandy Creek High with 1,268 events in 2013-2014 and 725 in 2014-2015, Booth Middle with 688 in 2013-2014 and 500 in 2014-2015, and Peachtree City Elementary with 151 infractions in 2013-2014 and 23 in 2014-2015.
Superintendent Jody Barrow in commenting on the numbers said the 2014-2015 figures showed a significant decrease over the previous year.
“Our disciplinary is solid here based on a view of other systems,” Barrow said, adding that the idea with school discipline is, “Be firm, be fair and be consistent.”
Greene said the cell phone usage has decreased since the Bring Your Own Technology (BTOT) program was implemented.
“Things like aggression diminish when elementary kids get to middle and high school,” Greene added.
For a complete list by school and infraction visit https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/ViewMeetingOrder.aspx?S=4067&MID=44356 and click on Discipline Reports for End of Year.
