SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — “Why don’t we engage? Why don’t we have even the public engagement? You know, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
That’s the question SPS board member Steve Makoski asked throughout an interview with OzarksFirst as a paddle sits on his desk, fresh off its initial appearance in a four-hour-long board meeting Tuesday night.
“If we’re not holding our students accountable for their actions in the school system, what are we going to have for the future,” Makoski said. “I think that a lot of the problems throughout the United States is that we just allow things to be okay.”
To be clear, Makoski has not introduced any policy or proposed a rule change to the district’s handbook.
This is all in response to several concerns from parents and educators about increased disruptions and a lack of discipline within SPS classrooms, most notably a large brawl at Parkview High School and a disturbing assault at Hickory Hills School in recent months.
It wasn’t the only idea Makoski had Tuesday night.