5 Comments Add your own

• 1. Vicki  |  March 17th, 2008 at 10:48 pm

  The tickets are unconstitutional. Truancy means not at school, If my child is at school, why would I be responsible for the fact that the administrators and teachers are failing to make sure my child is in class. We should be focusing on why our kids don’t want to be on time class in the first place. Maybe if they hired accredited techers and payed them accordingly, our kids would be taught in ways they can learn and be more excited to learn and want to be in class. Teachers that make a class a good structured learning environment where they engage the students have a much lower rate of tardyness and classroom issues.

• 2. Dianne Williams  |  March 18th, 2008 at 8:21 am

  I am so glad that Mayor Larry Morrisey took the initiave in handeling
  the problems in our schools. He’s the first to do something. There’s only
  so much a parent can do once they drop their child off at school. Now
  that theirs rules with a strict consequence finally you see the action.
  As long as students saw no consequence , well kids will be kids!
  THANK YOU LARRY MORRISEY!

• 3. Rick Severson  |  March 18th, 2008 at 8:38 am

  Now you’re blaming teachers? ALL this starts at home. What are parents thinking? (Or, NOT!!) Take responsibility for a change.

• 4. Ted Johnson  |  March 18th, 2008 at 9:03 am

  Mayor Morrissey Thank You! You have done your part. You have sparked a furious debate that has only one real solution: Kids must be in class! However we debate the problem the final solution is kids need to go to school and be in class! I wish I could go to my job hang out by the watercooler-breakroom all day and not get in trouble or possibly lose my job, that is not going to happen. If this is how we have to “educate” these kids, issuing fines, well at least they have learned one thing, there are consequences for your actions. Bringing this to the attention of the community can only help the situation over time. I encourage everyone to work together on this growing problem. The City, The Mayor, The Board of Education, The Interim Superintedent’s Office, The County Board, The Faculty, and The Parents. Did I cover everyone, I missed one key component, The Kids! This is a problem that effects every aspect of our community and it is something that needs to be resolved. So I say Thank You Mayor Morrissey, continue to make the tough decisions for a better Rockford Community.

• 5. Paul  |  March 19th, 2008 at 10:09 pm

  I question what is going to be done with the truants after they are cited. Is the followup going to be handled by school officials or the juvenile court system? If it is the juvenile court system we are in trouble. The juvenile court system is overloaded and policy is to return the offender to the parents. The parents of these kids are either unwilling or in some cases unable to control the child.

  Being a retired police officer, I recall booking a young 14 year old into the Juvenile Assessment Center. The booking offficer recognized him right away and told me he had been booked in on 58 prior incidents in which he either stole a vehicle or was a passenger in a stolen vehicle. The kid repeats because he knows nothing will be done.

  The point is, if truancy citations are handled in the same manner it will just be a joke among the students and will not stop the truancy problem. If they know they can get away with it, like any child, they will continue being truant.

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