School Board Meeting on K-9s in schools not well attended

Maybe it was because it was the third meeting on the subject, or maybe it was the weather, but the committee-of-the-whole School Board meeting on the use of K-9 units in the schools last night wasn't as packed as I thought it would be. If I had to guess, I would say about 50 folks attended, arriving late and sitting on one side of the seating arrangement in the Mills Lawn gym. There were at least a dozen teenagers and a handful of teachers. The majority of those present appeared to be parents.

The opinions expressed ranged from unequivocal support for Principal John Gudgel's plan for surprise visits by drug-sniffing dogs and their handlers, to modified support, to neutrality, to full-blown opposition. Most of the opposition came from YSHS students and recent grads who had shown up in a group, sat together, and took turns speaking passionately about how they would feel mistrusted and disrespected if the plan were set in motion. Several of those who supported the plan talked of how they had been personally impacted by friends and family members who started using drugs in high school. Some had lost relatives in drug-related deaths.

Virtually every speaker expressed their respect for Gudgel and Police Chief John Grote who was in the audience. Some spoke of their concern for what would happen if this precedent were set and they were no longer around.

Overall, the people who stepped up to the microphone appeared to be evenly divided. If you took the the YSHS student contingent out of the mix, the balance seemed to tip in favor of the use of K-9 units in some manner.

No runs, no hits, no errors. I doubt that Gudgel, who has sole authority over the matter, saw anything that would change his mind.

Diane Chiddister was there covering the meeting for the News. I would expect that they will publish a more detailed account of the meeting in next week's paper.

FYI: A summary of case law on use of drug-sniffing dogs in schools.

School Board Meeting still on for 7 p.m. in MLS Gym

The committee-of-the-whole School Board meeting on Principal John Gudgel's proposed use of K-9 units at YSHS/McKinney is still on for tonight.

The meeting is to be held in the Mills Lawn gym at 7 p.m. The community is invited.

They will call me if for some reason it is canceled. So check back here for a possible update.

Channel 7 coverage of YS PTA meeting

WHIO-TV channel 7 Eyewitness News was at the PTA meeting last night to cover the debate over the proposed use of drug-sniffing dogs in the Yellow Springs schools. Watch the report here.

There will be another meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29, this one a committee-of-the-whole School Board meeting. It will start at 7 p.m. in the Mills Lawn gym.

Update 1/23 - I noticed in today's Yellow Springs News that the time of the committee-of-the-whole meeting was reported differently in two different places in the newspaper. On Monday, I will check with the Board of Education and post the correct time in a new entry.