TAYLOR (WWJ) – As Taylor High School has seen an apparent rash of school fights this week, the school’s superintendent says the district will be cracking down on discipline.
There have been a reported seven fights this week – four on Monday, two on Tuesday and one on Wednesday – and one girl was arrested for using pepper spray on a number of people, according to WDIV.
In a statement posted to the Taylor School District Facebook page late Thursday afternoon, Interim Superintendent Michael Wegher acknowledged there has been “a rise in incidents that threaten the safety of others at Taylor High School, and at high schools across the country.”
He says the district has been, and will continue to do, “everything we can to proactively prevent anything that puts that safety at risk.”
“However, we are fully aware that these incidents still do occur, even when we are doing everything we can to prevent such incidents,” Wegher’s statement said.
Per the district’s student code of conduct, the administration is allowed to “go above the minimum penalties that are set forth in the code of conduct,” according to Wegher.
In an attempt to combat the surge of recent fights, Wegher says “from this point forward at Taylor High School, any infractions that are deemed to be a fighting infraction will result in that student being taken to a due process hearing.”
Read Wegher’s full statement on the district’s Facebook page.
Officials have not released any details about what sparked this week’s fights. They have also not disclosed the extent of any students’ injuries or whether any disciplinary actions have been taken.
The district only has one school resource officer, according to the WDIV report. He told the TV station the number of students – roughly 1,600 – far outnumbers school security staff. He noted there will be extra police patrols at the school moving forward, according to the report.