Parents Gripe About East Rowan, Call for Resignations

BY SUSAN DICKERSON
SALISBURY POST

After getting an earful about East Rowan High School Thursday night, Associate Superintendent Howard Hurt told an audience of about 60 people that he hopes they will help build up Ð not tear down Ð the school.

But moments later, Vivian Hopkins, the Gold Hill parent who organized the meeting, announced that she is circulating a petition to remove all three principals at the school. Hopkins has acknowledged that her son already has been suspended this year.

This morning, Hopkins said she has only 20 signatures, but she plans to circulate the petition through Christmas.

Hopkins called the meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church after rumors circulated among students and the community prompting many parents to keep their children out of school on Nov. 13. Administrators worked to quash the rumors of violence and brought in extra resource officers as a precaution.

Thursday night, parents and community members voiced their concerns, gripes and support, although the supporters were in the minority. Several school board members attended as well Ð Vick Bost, Dr. Bettie Starr and Dr. Ada Fisher, who takes her seat Dec. 7.

Arnold Chamberlain, recently elected to the county commission, sat in the back and watched.

Though he did not attend the meeting, East Rowan Principal Dr. Harry Starr said this morning, "East Rowan has almost 1,400 students and 2,800 parents. There were about 60 people at that meeting.

That is about 1 percent of the entire school body who attended last night's meeting."

After Hopkins gave her opening comments, the meeting, for at least the first 15 minutes, turned into a free-for-all. Parents voicing and sometimes shouting their complaints, comments running over each

other.

Parent Harold Fisher began the discussion with the question: "What's wrong? What's the problem with the administration?"

After a few tried to answer that question, a booming, baritone voice came from the back.

"I'll tell you what's wrong with East," said student Ben Hellard. "I come to school to learn and make something of myself. Just because I don't like something that somebody does, that doesn't mean I'm going to bring a gun to school and shoot that person."

Hellard said students can get anything they want in the halls, including drugs and weapons. He also said a student, who is an athlete, assaulted the school's resource officer.

Though he did not attend the meeting Thursday, East Rowan resource officer D.L. Walser said this morning that no one assaulted him.

"If I had been assaulted, someone would have been arrested," he said. "I don't play that game."

Instead, a fight between two girls broke out in the halls. While administrators tried to break that fight up, a group of students started pushing and shoving each other, pretending to fight and trying to egg the actual fight on.

Walser and another administrator took two of those students who were pushing and shoving to the office.

Walser said no one struck him.

But parents assumed that he was Thursday night and continued talking.

If that had been my child who committed that assault, parent Debbie Shepherd said, my child would have been suspended and hauled away. "There is too much favoritism with the athletes," she said. "(Discipline) has got to be equal. That student is no better than my son."

Parents said they are frustrated with East and how administrators handle the discipline. "It's to the point where I'm ready to take my kids out of public school," Hellard said.

Mary Wagner, Hopkins' sister, said she called East on Nov. 13 to check on her daughter. She said the person said everything was under control but then that person hung up on her.

When Wagner called back, "they laughed at me on the phone," she said. "She will not be there any other days there are gun threats."

And when her daughter turns 16, Wagner is going to let her daughter enroll in Stanly County.

"The next time, it's not going to be a threat," Wagner said. "Someone is going to be killed."

During the discussion, several parents and one student repeated the claim about the assault on the resource officer.

But Hurt was not able to respond to many of the rumors and complaints repeated Thursday night, since Harry Starr and Assistant Principals Bettie Weant and Ron Horton did not attend.

This morning, Harry Starr said he and his assistant principals have a meeting with Hurt and Superintendent Dr. Joe McCann to discuss the issues brought up at the meeting.

Starr also said of his school: "In the last year, East Rowan has been named an exemplary school by the state, we've won the Wachovia Award for overall excellence in athletics, we've won good sportsmanship awards from the state and a state Junior Civitan award. Last year, our seniors earned over $800,000 in scholarships.

"I am proud of East Rowan and have devoted my life to it. I think the vast majority of our students and parents are just as proud of East Rowan as I am. ... I would hope that all students and parents would be satisfied with East and with the discipline policy, but I don't think it is possible."

If the McCann receives a petition from the group, he still must follow state and federal laws that govern employment, he said.

"We will continue to monitor and work with the staff," McCann said, "and try to provide support and direction for those issues that are the points of discussion and deliberation."