Center on school property
By Bert Lehman
If a resident or student has been banned from Clintonville school property, they are not allowed to use the Clintonville Rec Center because the building is on school district property.
The Clintonville School Board made this decision at its Dec. 18 meeting.
At the meeting, Superintendent Troy Kuhn said there were two recent incidents regarding people using the Rec Center who were not allowed on school property.
Because of that, he asked the board if community members who are not allowed on school property for certain reasons should be allowed to use the Rec Center. He also asked if students who are expelled from the district, either temporarily or permanently, should be allowed to use the Rec Center during the duration of their expulsion. Expulsion bans students from school property.
He also asked if expelled students are not allowed at the Rec Center, is that for all times, or only when school is in session.
“This has come up, unfortunately, two and a half times in the last week,” Kuhn said.
Clintonville School Board President Ben Huber asked if there is direct access from the Rec Center to the high school building.
Kuhn said the doors joining those two buildings are locked.
Board member Kris Strauman asked if it is possible that district students would be in the Rec Center during school hours.
Kuhn said there are times when students are in the Rec Center during school hours.
“Well, when you expel a student, you expel them from student activities and school property, so why would we open it up for them to possibly have contact with them (students),” Strauman asked.
Board member Glen Drew Lundt asked what would happen with the Rec Center membership for the expelled student since they paid for it, but would not be allowed to use the Rec Center.
“Because then you’re not a student, you’re a paying member,” Lundt said.
Strauman asked how the district would provide supervision so there would be no contact between the expelled student and students attending school. She also pointed out that an expelled student is not allowed to attend district sporting events.
“But those are all specific school things, where the Rec is a gray area where, I mean you don’t have to be a student to use the Rec,” Lundt said. “And you pay for that. I think there is kind of a fine line there.”
Strauman asked if part of the Rec Center membership would have to be refunded.
Huber said even though a student is expelled, they are still part of the community, and they should have the ability to use the community Rec Center, “which is associated with the school.”
Board member Chad Dobbe said the majority of student expulsions are to protect the safety of other students in the district.
“And reintroducing them into the school population seems careless, from my perspective, to allow them in (the Rec Center),” Dobbe said.
The board didn’t actually vote on the matter. Rather, they agreed that the wording for banning someone from school grounds automatically includes the Rec Center because it is located on school grounds. Thus, not action was required.
Kuhn said he would personally reach out to the parents who brought these questions to the district, and explain the board’s decision.
Regarding the Rec Center membership, the board was told that part of the membership agreement with members has a stipulation that the membership can be revoked with no refund for certain reasons.