Kids need protection with actions, not words

At the June 18 Upper Freehold Regional School District school board meeting, it was a pleasure to witness the results of the Dr. Christopher Nagy administration action plan to marginalize the risk of the growing problems related to drug abuse and the real-life concern of gang activity on our doorsteps. Through several PowerPoint slides (though red font does not go with a blue background), Dr. Nagy, Connie Embley and Brian Myslinski outlined the year-end statistics of drug-related activities, arrests and subsequent punishments. In an almost off-the-cuff comment, Mr. Myslinski mentioned that the first pass of punishment for a first-time drug offense was a five-day out-of-school suspension. This was met with head-nodding approval from the gallery present, but then the proverbial "other shoe" dropped, and it is appalling.

It appears as though this trial five-day out-of-school suspension was met with some reservation by a parent(s) whose little angel was subject to the penalty. The parent(s) complained that "five days is too much. I work and I can't take the time off to be with him/her if they are out of school" and that the school "had to take him/her." As I was picking my jaw off the floor of the media center, the translations and questions began to go through my head. "Your kid is taking or is dealing drugs. Hello! You take the time off from work and be the parent." This is so atypical. The school confines are an institute of learning and growing. Day care ended when we registered our children for the first grade. Dr. Nagy, Ms. Embley and Mr. Myslinski are not care sitters and have jobs that far outweigh any of ours in terms of responsibility and accountability. They have almost 1,000 young men and women that need to have their educational growth looked after. Any parent thinking that they should act as constable and warden should have parental rights stripped. The Allentown High School and its administration do not run a baby-sitting service between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

But let's take this a step further. Little (fill in the blank)'s mother and father can't take the time off to spend with their obviously ill child but are willing to risk sending them to school and sitting them next to our children. Where is the outrage? Also, I wondered how they'll spend their summer vacation, maybe at the shore or at Disney? I'm certain that time off would be found between June and September. This may not be politically correct or liberal enough for some to stomach, but I pray daily that my kids are safe and healthy. Sometimes life throws a Schilling slider and we swing and miss, but I can guarantee that if one of my children gets a first-offense drug-related suspension, he/she will not be able to make it back to school after that five-day window.

The sitting school board must take this seriously. They must take those slides and the hour-long discussion to heart and consult their retained attorneys and perform the due diligence needed to protect our children from the dangers of drug abusers and dealers that are obviously within the walls of High Street (yes, the irony there is noted). But we as parents need to be diligent and recognize the warning signs and not just talk to our kids, but take the actions necessary to prevent them from falling prey to this plague. The school board needs to take the summer months and come up with a plan that takes a stand that will not only support the efforts of Dr. Nagy, Ms. Embley and Mr. Myslinski, but acts as a deterrent to those who fancy themselves smarter and slicker than everyone else. The school board's new superintendent needs to make this job No. 1 for his agenda and to firmly put the zero tolerance hard-liner into effect.

Bruce Novozinsky

Upper Freehold