MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A student walkout in the Manitowoc Public School District last week is sparking debate among parents, with some praising the protest and others questioning why it happened during the school day.
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Manitowoc Superintendent Lee Thennes said the district had to balance student safety with their constitutional rights. He added that the district followed the law and kept student safety the top priority during the walkout, and he does not plan to resign.
"Students First Amendment rights don't stop at the schoolhouse door," Thennes said.
"Every citizen in our country no matter what age they are has freedom of expression," Thennes said.
Thennes added that schools are required to act in place of parents.
"Loco parentis and what it basically means, in the absence of parents school officials need to assume that role and that's essentially what we were doing," Thennes said.
MPSD parent Todd Mitchler spoke against the protest at this week's school board meeting. He said the issue is not the message itself, but when and how the protest happened.
"It is my opinion that the superintendent should tender his resignation or be terminated," Mitchler said.
"If the staff finds out that students are going to skip and leave school the appropriate response is to say, no you're going to class, not say, let me grab my jacket and come with you," Mitchler said.
However, MPSD parent Michael Rutherford sees the situation differently. When I asked about those who say the protest was a poor use of class time, he shared his support.
"I think it's a great thing," Rutherford said.
"I think there's a lot worse uses of class time. There's not much more you can teach a child than fight for what you believe in," Rutherford said.
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