Posted: 3/13/2003 11:00:49 AM EDT
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[url]http://www.msnbc.com/local/wfla/mgavr4ft6dd.asp?vts=31220030928[/url] Sharp Calculator Leads To Student's Suspension Mar 12, 2003 - BRANDON - Angela Saffold's calculator can't help her figure the Hillsborough County school district's zero-tolerance policy on weapons. It just doesn't add up, she said. Her 13-year-old son, Burns Middle School sixth-grader Cortez Curtis, is serving a 10- day suspension for taking his mother's calculator to school. Hidden within the James Bond-esque calculator are tools such as a screwdriver, a magnifying glass and - the contraband that led to his suspension and arrest on felony weapons possession - a 2- inch knife blade. Curtis was not brandishing the weapon or threatening a classmate. ``That would be something totally different,'' Saffold said, acknowledging those would be legitimate grounds for discipline. But she said the punishment is too severe for just taking the calculator to school Friday. ``He didn't do anything wrong,'' Saffold said. ``He didn't threaten anybody.'' District policy is clear: Weapons are weapons. Whether butter knife or machete, 2 inches or 2 feet, policy dictates an automatic 10-day suspension. Curtis also might be permanently banished from Burns, as the policy also suggests placement in an alternative school or possible expulsion. ``That's what zero-tolerance means,'' said district spokesman Mark Hart. Superintendent Earl Lennard would not address any specific situation, but he said state and federal mandates require the district to apply a zero-tolerance approach in dealing with weapons possession. He said the district tries to use ``common sense.'' No Alternative School Saffold said she bought the calculator at a roadside stand for about $5. Curtis asked to borrow it the night of March 5 to do homework. He took it to school Friday without Saffold's knowledge, she said, and when he dropped the calculator, the knife blade was exposed. Curtis said he put the knife back inside the calculator, but another student had told the teacher. She asked Curtis for the calculator but could not find the knife until he showed it to her. She reported him to administrators, triggering the suspension, arrest and a trip to juvenile detention. ``It's a shame, but the way things have been in our society,'' said sheriff's Deputy Jeff Massaro, the school resource deputy. ``The bottom line is he had a weapon.'' The severity of the offense means Curtis cannot keep up with his schoolwork at an Alternative to Out-of-School Suspension Center and could lose credit for two weeks of absences. At least 86 Hillsborough County students have been suspended for weapons possession this school year. More than 150 violated the policy in 2001-02, district figures show. Although neighboring Polk County has discussed revisiting its zero-tolerance policy on knife possession, Hart said he knew of no such discussions in Hillsborough, the Bay area's largest school district. Pasco More Flexible In Pasco County, a referral is made to the superintendent's office when a knife or item that could be used as a knife is discovered. ``We address it seriously,'' said Bob Dorn, the district's administrative assistant for secondary schools. But district officials consider the circumstances, the student's explanation and intent, and whether the item actually could be used as a weapon when determining disciplinary action. ``We are not suspending kids for paper clips or nail files,'' Dorn said. He said he had not heard of any case involving a knife in a calculator. In Pinellas County, a student's intent helps determine discipline. Students who possess a weapon with intent to harm others are expelled, while punishments vary for others. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is holding Saffold's calculator. Officials there declined a Tampa Tribune request to photograph the device because it is considered evidence. Calculators similar to what Saffold described are listed on Internet sites that warn law enforcement and airport security workers of seemingly harmless but potentially dangerous objects. Saffold said she bought the calculator because she ``wanted to help out'' the guy running the roadside stand. She didn't expect her son to take it to school, and she certainly did not expect the fallout that followed. ``I understand the law and the rules,'' Saffold said. ``I clearly feel they're wrong this time,'' she said. ``They took it too far.'' Reporter Ronnie Blair contributed to this report. Reporter Joe Humphrey can be reached at (813) 657-4535. |
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your kid can't bring any knife to school! why is that so hard to get thru to some people. no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! no knives! "Jumpin' Jesus on the Cross!" |
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Quoted: Zero tolerance = people are too freakin stupid to be able to use their brains to figure out what is right so we make up a rule that covers everything without having to think about it and make an intelligent decision! [whacko] Truer words were never spoken... How about using common sense. There was a story in Ohio a few days ago about a kid that took a plastic knife out of the cafeteria, and thus it magically turned from an eating utensil into a weapon. Oh the horror. Neither kid attempted to use the 'weapon' on anyone. What is the big friggin' deal. |
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Zero Tolerance=Zero Intelligence. Morons. [i]sigh[/i] I hope young Curtis finds out who taddled on him. I hope that from this event he understands that adults can be just as fucking stupid as the classmates that shove crayons up their nose. Saffold said she bought the calculator because she ``wanted to help out'' the guy running the roadside stand. She didn't expect her son to take it to school, and she certainly did not expect the fallout that followed. Yes Staffold, [b]you are certainly are a irresponsible bitch. You better justify[/b] why you purchased such a evil, harmful item, from a shady roadside stand. [V] [i]sigh[/i]' When did all knives become weapons? The term “weapon” indicates the use of a tool for the intent to defend or harm. The only intent here was to perform simple math functions. |
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Quoted: >>>``It's a shame, but the way things have been in our society,'' said sheriff's Deputy Jeff Massaro, the school resource deputy. ``The bottom line is he had a weapon.''<<< What an asshole. Jay Silly you! Don't you know that he's just trying to fast track himself into being a big shot at the TSA. |
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Quoted: Zero tolerance = people are too freakin stupid to be able to use their brains to figure out what is right so we make up a rule that covers everything without having to think about it and make an intelligent decision! [whacko] It also absolves the rule-making entity of direct responsibility - "We have a zero tolerance policy on weapons". Additionally, it lulls people into thinking that since we have a rule against it, we are protected from it. It=violence. Violence=weapons. Violence is the result of weapons, not those that wield them - or so these numbnuts that run our public indoctrination facilities think. The Columbine killers were not constrained by rules. The sad part is that I grew up in this exact area of Tampa - and to see what it has degenerated into makes me sick! You know what is the most amazing thing about this whole "zero tolerance" phenom - Those instiutions that are charged with teaching our kids to think are doing just the exact opposite with this policy - don't think, don't reason, don't use logic. Just ban stuff! Do it for the childern! For the love of God (who is not allowed in school, thanks to this kind of thinking or lack thereof), for the children! |
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[img]http://www.mpoetc.org/Photos/Officer%20Safety/calc_knife_01.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.mpoetc.org/Photos/Officer%20Safety/calc_knife_02.jpg[/img] I noticed near the end of the article that they talked about the school districts that actually use some common sense when making these tough decisions. It also tells me that the super who is quoted saying they have to follow a zero tolerence policy because of state law is B.S. They all need a good "slap down". Jay |
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Quoted: Everyone in woodshop is now automatically expelled! (Zero tolerance, right...) Don't forget Home Economics! All kinds of evil,, nasty sharp knives/scissors there. It's only a matter of time before some HomeEc student runs amok. Art class & Biology! There's usually X-acto knives, scissors & scalpels galore. I've actually had semiserious thoughts of calling in the "concerned citizen" snitchbitch phone # & reporting the HomeEc/Art/Biology "weapons" just to make a point re "Zero Tolerance" BS. |
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Snitches cause more problems than they prevent. Once in high school, I got nailed at long-range by an egg once that was stolen from a cooking class. Wanna know what happend to that little chickensh!t, he got kicked out of that class. That was it. Frankley, the school should have moved him to a different school because he was no longer safe from me or my freinds, and we made his life hell. Anyway, I think they should put a zero-tolerance policy on eggs, if no one had an egg i wouldnt have been egged. |
| They should only allow students to use rubber pens and tiny books, because you can kill someone with a pen or pencil and a big book can be dangerous. Oh, and no glass beverage containers. Those are VERY deadly. And there had better not be any trees near school property, because a kid could pull a large branch off and kill someone with it. |