SCHOOL DISCIPLINE PLAN UPDATED

The policy focuses on curbing alcohol and drug abuse and has drawn
controversy for provisions in a tentative version, which linked
disciplinary action to the loss of extracurricular activities.

Aimed mostly at high school students, the policy is unique in that it
tries to oversee student behavior both during school hours and during
off-hours, hence its 24/7 designation.

A tentative version of the policy, featuring a range of counseling,
community service and lost activities privileges for offending
students, was adopted by the school board in early spring to tide the
district over until the end of the school year. The policy was
extended at a June school board meeting to cover the time period
until October, when a final version would be put in place, O'Brien explained.

"I was charged with some final revisions which have been made, and at
the August board meeting we will be posting it for public review and
then we're going to see if we can get the board to vote on it in
October," O'Brien said.

O'Brien declined to go into detail about what his revisions entail,
saying it would be inappropriate to disclose such details until their
formal presentation before the school board.

"In some ways it's gotten a little softer; in some ways it's gotten a
little tougher," he said. "It's been massaged both ways."

O'Brien, who had spent months attending meeting with parents,
students, and various borough stakeholders, had become convinced
early on in his new role as Haddonfield schools superintendent that
the times demanded such a policy.

However, O'Brien's proposal for such a policy met with some
resistance from parents, who expressed concerns about a public sector
institution assuming the right to exact discipline over their
children when they are not in school.

O'Brien noted that drug and alcohol abuse during extra-curricular
activities by an offending student, even if such activities occur off
school grounds, can adversely affect other students, and the negative
effects can be carried over into the school Others complained
O'Brien's tentative policy would disproportionately affect those
active in extra-curricular activities, and still others complained
that the policy offered little more than a succession of
"wrist-slapping" for repeat offenders.

"This is not about punishment or retribution," O'Brien said of his
revised policy. "This is about dialogue and holding everyone
accountable for their actions. To me, it's important to be consistent
with the dialogue whenever these incidents occur."