Officials reverse course on drill team member’s punishment

From Staff Reports

Burleson ISD officials on Tuesday wiped away the punishment of drill team member Lindsey Wessel, who had been suspended for one performance and given eight demerits for content on her MySpace networking Web site that school officials deemed inappropriate.

After a level one hearing involving Burleson High principal David Priddy and the student’s parents, the district removed the eight demerits and the suspension.

According to a prepared statement from Burleson ISD on Tuesday, “When campus and district officials examined the drill team constitution, they discovered a loop hole that specifically defined when demerits could be given. As a result of that specific clause in the constitution, the level one hearing administrator is reversing the original decision and removing the demerits.”

In a prepared statement Monday, the district said, “Burleson ISD, as well as school districts all across Texas, has extra-curricular codes of conduct that hold students in many organizations such as Drill Team, Cheerleading, Athletics, Fine Arts, Honor Society, etc., to a higher standard both on and off the field of play. Additionally the Burleson Drill Team, Elk Strutters, has a constitution that both student and parent sign prior to their participation. In this case both the parent and the student did sign the document.”

In Tuesday’s prepared statement, the district said, “The original concern about the content of the MySpace page was brought to the attention of the drill team director and campus administration by students who were deeply concerned that the content was inappropriate and did not reflect positively on the Drill Team.

“Campus staff did not hack into or visit any personal MySpace site. They did act upon the information that was presented to them by students.

“The student and her parents were advised by district officials that the content of the site was inappropriate. While there have been media reports and comments by some parties that the demerits were issued for a single word, that information is erroneous. All of the content in question was discussed with the parents.

“District officials remain deeply concerned, just as our students are concerned, that some of the information posted on the site was inappropriate. It is our belief that the school organization and the community at large would support our concerns that this type of material does not positively reflect the values we wish to present.

“... The parents were provided with a copy of the level one decision at 10:30 a.m. [Tuesday] during a meeting with the campus administration. Additionally they were advised of the specific content in question during this meeting.

“District officials have an extra-curricular code of conduct that could have been enforced but the original decision to use the drill team constitution was in fact the basis for all decisions. If the extra-curricular code of conduct had been referenced, the punitive action would have been greater and resulted in suspension from 20 percent of the performances. The district will not retroactively impose that sanction.

“BISD will continue to expect students in extra-curricular activities to model exemplary behavior. We will also use this opportunity to inform students about the dangers and pitfalls associated with personal postings on social networking sites that may cause complications for them when applying for college, seeking references, employment or scholarship monies. It will be important for students to understand that they have little if any control of who has access to their postings once they release it to access friends.

“BISD officials appreciate the many phone calls and comments from community members and parents who expect the district to hold students to a higher standard.”