Student expelled for remainder of school year
ACT scores 2nd best in county
“We have worked hard with the parent to get alternative placement. They are not willing to cooperate.”
John Laffoon
High school principal
A Pea Ridge High School student was expelled by the School Board on Monday night after administrators outlined their failed efforts to keep him in school.
Superintendent Rick Neal told board members the issues involved drugs.
“We have worked hard with the parent to get alternative placement,” High School principal John Laffoon told the board. “They are not willing to cooperate.”
The main issues were two violations of the district’s controlled substance policy, administrators reported. Board policy requires expulsion on the second violation. After he was caught with drugs the second time, administrators told him he should be expelled, but they offered alternative placement with a lot of counseling at a special program in Bentonville.
The student, who is a 17-yearold senior, went two days, but didn’t return, administrators said. They then met with the father and told him to get the boy enrolled in Youth Bridge, and asked for documentation. The district has heard nothing since.
“We’ve exhausted our resources,” Laffoon said.
The teen was expelled for the remainder of the school year by an unanimous vote of the school board. He will not be able to attend any school in the state for the duration of the expulsion, Neal said.
After the expulsion hearing, the board convened the regular board meeting.
Assistant superintendent Keith Martin presented the staterequired annual report to the public.
Using a PowerPoint presentation, Martin showed 48 datafilled pages that cover everything from rising property values in the district to discipline in the schools. The report is included in this week’s Times of Northeast Benton County.
When the ACT slide appeared, Neal noted that of all the data shown, he’s most proud of what the ACT slide represents.
“The composite score for district is 22.1 (with a 36 being a perfect score), which is second highest in Benton County, with Bentonville at 23,” Neal said.
“That’s 22.7,” Laffoon corrected.
“Yes,” Neal responded, a smile appearing on his face because that put Pea Ridge even closer to the other district.
During the presentation when the page about the Pea Ridge Manufacturing and Business Academy was shown, Neal told the board that by Christmas administrators will have given seven or eight tours to groups from around the state. Districts are looking at what PRMBA is doing because it’s so innovative.
After the report to the public concluded, Neal returned to further discuss PRMBA. He said that the analysis of measuring success or failure will be data driven. He said every teacher involved with PRMBA is tracking students after graduation. PRMBA graduated 29 students in May, so following them for a couple of years will not be hard; but when 60 graduate this year and 80 or more the year after that, keeping track will become much more difficult.
The Walton Family Foundation has asked the district to develop a video of each grade to follow students from 10th grade to a year after graduation to show what PRMBA is doing.