Public rallies over discipline at Monticello High School

The River Reporter
Thursday, January 26, 1995

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Over a hundred parents and teachers turned out for an highly charged school board meeting on January 26th at Monticello High School (MHS).

Nearly all who spoke agreed that language in an underground newspaper called The Sub-Station was offensive, though some defended students' right to publish it. Others claimed the paper crossed the line of protected speech.

Some urged talking things over -- through mediation or less formally -- to resolve conflicts, stating the paper reflected genuine complaints within the student body.

Casey -- "I'm accountable"

While superintendent Eileen Casey said she was "accountable" for school district actions in regard to the incident, she denied involvement in the decision to have the youth arrested.

"There was never a request on our part to have any student arrested," Casey asserted. "It wasn't unusual for us to call the police and alert them."

The arrest complaint was reportedly signed by Will.

Casey said she understood the decision to have the editor arrested was made "by the district attorney's office."

The day after the board meeting, Sullivan County district attorney Stephen Lungen termed Casey's statement "incorrect," stating he received "a significant amount of input" from school attorney Henri Shawn.

Shawn declined to respond, citing the threatened suit. He said the school district will be defended by a Syracuse firm.

Teachers and parents speak

Of 30 people who spoke or submitted letters on the issue at the meeting, 14 defended the administration's response to the newsletter. Twelve sided with the student editor.

All but one of those who spoke in favor of the arresting or censuring the editor identified themselves as having been Monticello Central School District employees or board members. Critics of the arrest were more diverse, including MHS parents, residents and some who work as educators in nearby districts.

Many on both sides denounced the obscenities and personal insults in the eight-page homespun newsletter.

Some stressed support for the administration's emphasis on discipline policies, and for Will individually, but said law-enforcement agents went too far.

Richard Feller of Bethel was among several school board members who claimed the newspaper was not covered by the First Amendment. "The Constitution isn't a document that gives every citizen of this country the right to do whatever and wherever they please. You can't libel somebody. You can't slander somebody. And you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. The document is so sacred that it offends me, at times, to see it so used and stepped upon as it often is," he said.

Helene Polonsky of Monticello, a parent and Liberty school social worker, said "the arrest was much more likely to incite a riot than the paper did." She said discipline grows from mutual respect, not brute force.

Monticello parent Ilene Raynor called the arrest "an abuse of power," urging officials to heed students' grievances.

Jacob Billig of Liberty, an attorney, urged that a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, be applied to the present case. "Maybe, dare I say it, there's a little too much freedom. Maybe we have a little too much empowerment and things are out of balance," said Billig.

Attorney Mark Schulman of Wurtsboro, who said he represented the family of the arrested editor, criticized MHS assistant principal Ivan Katz for allegedly joining police in a search of the bedroom of the youth's parents. "Regardless of whether the police had a right to be there, he didn't," Schulman claimed.

Schulman told the board he "would not allow" them to reply because their lawyer was not at the meeting.

"There are answers to your allegations," said board president Jean Rosenheck, "but we can't give them to you. I guess that will have to come at a later date."

Schulman said his client "did not intend any violence."

The newsletter called on pupils to urinate in public, write on walls, litter and smoke in the bathrooms. "The issue was safety. This is not about freedom of speech," Casey said.

"Throughout this whole thing, Mr. Will has been in the eye of the storm and the media has made a circus out of this," Rosenheck said in reply to criticisms of the arrest.

Casey said she consulted Lungen, attorneys, police, and the NYS School Boards Association before responding to the underground newspaper.

In other business

The board heard a presentation by principal George Will, assistant principal Christine Hart, and teachers Wendy Levinson and Lynn Skolnick about a work-study program called "City As School" which will be implemented at MHS.

A policy on dissemination of identifying information received from the NYS Division of Parole on known pedophiles was adopted.

The board extended Presidents' Day weekend to four days.

A report and public comments and questions were received on air quality status at the Duggan School in White Lake.