Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
STUDENT SENATE President Robert Burchell addresses members of the board of education, which includes from left, Trustee Brenda Agee, Trustee Pamela Niemi, Trustee John Lorenson, Superintendent Tim Kolesar and President Pro Tem Ed Rickard.
IRONWOOD - After a brief presentation by Student Senate President Robert Burchell, the Ironwood Area Schools Board of Education approved Burchell's request to expand the school's senior privileges at Monday's board meeting.
The change to the policy - which allows the district's seniors who meet the requirements to leave campus for lunch - will extend the period of the privilege from the current week before graduation to begin April 1.
Burchell's request did expand the requirements needed to qualify for the open-campus lunches to include the maintenance of a 2.0 grade point average, a zero-tolerance tardiness policy for classes after lunch and a stipulation that any abuse of the privilege would also lead to student losing the ability to leave campus for lunch.
These requirements will be added to the current requirements - which include having below the required number of tardies and absences in a class - that must be met to be allowed to leave campus for lunch.
Students are given 24 minutes for lunch.
Burchell expressed excitement at the expansion of the privilege, saying he thought the request was a shot in the dark but one worth taking.
"I feel pretty accomplished actually," Burchell told the Daily Globe after the board's decision. "I'm pretty excited and I think the class will be too."
The senior privileges changed from being excused from study hall to being excused from lunch when the district eliminated study halls from the schedule, Principal Michelle Kanipes told the board.
School board President Steve Thomas said he didn't necessarily see the point of only leaving campus for such a short period of time but complimented Burchell on coming to the board and getting the policy changed.
"What I like about it is you really went through the process of researching and trying to do it," said Thomas, "that in itself, to me, is a pretty good accomplishment. I congratulate you and the student council on that."
Board Treasurer Marilyn Nezworski and Trustee Leroy Johnson weren't present at the meeting.
