After four Mackinac Island student athletes were suspended from playing in sports for possession of illegal substances, parents voiced concern about the way the punishments were handled, and the Mackinac Island school board now says it will reconsider the general policy for student athletes. The school board did decide that school administrators would contact parents before investigating a student for disciplinary action for an offense that doesn’t take place at school or at school events.

A handful of parents attended the school board meeting Thursday, January 19, upset about the way the discipline was handled. Four Mackinac Island student athletes were suspended in December for breaking school policy on drug and alcohol abuse and each student faced a two-week suspension from athletic competition [The St. Ignace News, January 12]. All suspensions have been served.

The current policy for a student athlete possessing an illegal substance, including tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, on or off of school property, is a three-strike system. The first strike results in two weeks suspension from games or meets, the second strike results in a one-month suspension, and a third strike results in a one-year suspension from the entire athletic program. For the first and second strike, students are still required to practice. Each strike consists of a one-year probation period, and if the student completes the probation, the strike count resets to zero.

Prior to the school board meeting, Policy Committee members Terry Andress, Leanne Brodeur, and Jennifer King met and discussed possible changes to the student policy.

Changes suggested by the committee include lengthening the penalty for a first offense, from a game suspension of two weeks to 25% of the season. If the season were more than three-fourths over, the suspension would carry over into the next season.

The same is applied to a second offense, where the student would miss 50% of the season’s games, instead of just four weeks suspension.

A voluntary confession by the student to having an illegal substance can result in the penalty being reduced.

At the same time, the school board discussed adding penalties if the student athlete was charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. If a student athlete is found guilty of a felony, the penalty will jump two strikes, placing the student on either strike two or three.

School board president Jason St. Onge said if they added that stipulation, the penalty should only apply once the judge determines the student is guilty of either the misdemeanor or felony. If the incident occurs on school property, then the school administration does not have to wait for the judge.

The school board policy committee also clarified that the school administration would contact the student’s parents prior to investigating any claim of substance abuse or possession.

Parents were concerned that the last few students punished were coerced into admitting guilt, since their parents were not present during any questioning. One parent asked why the superintendent has the power to investigate and pass judgment on the students, even if the incident occurs off campus. Another parent worried that a student with a vendetta could do a lot of damage with one phone call.

David Waaso, superintendent of the Mackinac Island school, said that he typically doesn’t follow up on 90% of the things students say in the halls, but this time he was hearing the same story from a number of students, and he believed he had to look into the matter.

“All I think we were trying to do is help people understand the policy,” Mr. Waaso said. “I’ve been in education for a long time. I know when someone has a vendetta against another student.”

Mr. St. Onge still thought it would be best for the school board to implement the policy that, in any situation, the parents will be alerted before the superintendent or another administrator follows up on any lead. The board approved the change to the policy unanimously.

All other decisions regarding the policy change will be discussed further in committee sessions.

In other business, changes in state law will require that the school board adjust the length of a term for the school board. The state required that all school elections be held every two years in November, coinciding with the state and national election cycle. Mr. Waaso explained that the school board may want to change the length of a term from four years to six years, which would prevent more than three school board positions from being up for election at the same time. No decisions were made at the time.