GLENDALE — The Glendale-River Hills school board refuses to take a student kicked out of a neighboring district.
The school board unanimously voted Tuesday night to deny that student's enrollment. While there was no public comment at the meeting, some parents told TODAY'S TMJ4 that they're pleased with the decision and that the district superintendent owned his mistake.
In front of dozens of parents. the Glendale-River Hills school board voted not to allow a student with a troubled past to enroll in their district. That student was expelled Fox Point-Bayside for allegedly making violent threats.
"I'd like to apologize to some community members and to the board," said Superintendent Larry Smalley.
Last week, Smalley admitted he broke district policy by letting that student attend classes without board approval.
"I'm the one who put us in this situation," he said.
Glen Hills Middle School parents said the student was only in class for three days last week before the district removed him.
"I urged the board to do what is compassionate, not necessarily what is legally correct," Smalley explained.
School board members shared frustrations about Smalley breaking district policy.
Because of confidentiality laws, they made no mention of why they denied the student's enrollment.
"I'm not surprised, I'm pleased with the outcome," said Gena Mosconi.
Mosconi said she and several other parents were concerned about student safety before Tuesday night's decision. Some even kept their kids home from school.
"It goes beyond this issue at hand, but what could potentially happen if something were to occur with this student or others and breaking policy," she said.
Mosconi hopes the student is able to receive an education elsewhere and that the district learns from this process.
Both the school board director and Superintendent Smalley declined our interview requests. The school board made no mention of whether Smalley would be reprimanded for breaking school district policy.
