Superintendent charged with false imprisonment in strip search incident
Kelly Casper, who leads the Suring (Wis.) district, is accused of having female students strip to their underwear in a search for vaping devices
A school superintendent in Wisconsin has been charged with false imprisonment after being accused of illegally detaining six female students during searches for vaping devices.
The Green Bay Press Gazette reports that Kelly Casper, superintendent of Suring Public Schools, allegedly confined the students and had them strip down to their underwear on Jan 17 and 18 in a bathroom at Suring High School.
Prosecutors initially determined that the searches did not violate state law, but subsequently decided that Casper did not have the authority to confine the students and that the students did not consent to being confined.
Following the filing of charges, the Suring school board placed Casper on paid administrative leave. She has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, and a hearing was scheduled for later in April.
Longtime educator in San Diego district is named superintendent
Lamont Jackson replaces Cindy Marten, who was appointed last year as deputy U.S. education secretary.
The San Diego Unified School Board has approved a four-year contract with a $375,000 annual salary for its new superintendent, Lamont Jackson.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Jackson has worked for the district for about 34 years and previously served as an area superintendent. Jackson was already serving as the interim superintendent for almost a year after replacing Cindy Marten, who was appointed by President Joe Biden as deputy education secretary.
Jackson’s salary is 29% more than what Marten, was paid. Marten, who led the district for eight years, was collecting a $290,907 annual salary, according to the district.
In addition to his annual salary, Jackson will also get a $15,000 annual car allowance.
San Diego Unified is California’s second-largest district. Its fall 2020 enrollment was 118,523.
Jackson is a San Diego native who has worked in the district as a teaching assistant, teacher, coach, principal and chief human resources officer before becoming an area superintendent.
Springfield (Ill.) board votes to install metal detectors at high schools
Approval of the security measure comes 4 months after a student was fatally stabbed outside a high school
The Springfield (Ill.) school board has voted to install metal detectors in its three high schools as well as two alternative school campuses.
The State Journal-Register reports that the devices will be installed by the end of the school year at Lanphier, Southeast and Springfield high schools.
Community support for the added security has grown since Pierre V. Scott, a senior at Lanphier High, was stabbed to death outside the school on Nov. 17. The proposal gained additional momentum in March when a gun fell out of a student's bag at Southeast High, and the campus was placed on lockdown.
The district also plans to acquire metal detectors for its four middle schools in the future, Superintendent Jennifer Gill said.
