By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
USD 428 Great Bend announced in March the creation of a district-wide vape task force to address the matter of vaping in all its schools. Monday night, the board of education finalized a policy that will go in student handbooks for the 2023-24 school year. The policy passed with a split 4-2 vote. Assistant Superintendent John Popp laid out the proposal.
"We wanted an option that was more - lenient isn't the right word - but understanding that parents are just finding out. They want an option to keep their kid in school and work with the school to help the kid overcome whatever may or may not be an addiction. We believe there are kids who truly are addicted. We want to work with them and their parents to overcome that addiction."
Building principals will be in contact with parents to determine if corrective actions will follow a growth and education option or a punitive option. The first two offenses under the education option include in-school suspension, while the noncompliance option features immediate out-of-school suspension. Punishment may be more severe for students caught with more than one device. A first offense is five days of out-of-school suspension.
"If we see the child has multiple devices or it's deemed that they are distributing, or that it has a prohibited substance like marijuana or something like that, then we jump down to this more punitive option," Popp said.
Board members Chad Burroughs and Lori Reneau wanted to see a more black-and-white corrective option to make punishment the same for all students. Popp and Board President Jacquie Disque agreed the policy may need to be reviewed shortly after the school year begins.
The vaping task force includes USD 428 building administrators as well as members from the Barton County Health Department, Juvenile Services, and the Great Bend Police Department.