Orlando Sentinel, Florida, 19 June 1986

100 Vero Pupils Pick Paddling Over Suspension

Administrators at a junior high school have conducted a mass paddling of about 100 detention-skipping students who chose the trip to the woodshed over suspension.

The paddlings were offered by Vero Beach Junior High School officials who wanted to let students know they couldn't get away with skipping detention just because the close of the academic year was at hand, Dean of Boys Richard Thomas said.

"I am not happy about paddling," but it was the only choice, said Indian River County School Board Chairwoman Dorothy Talbert.

The June 2 paddlings amounted to nearly two-thirds of the 154 handed out during the year at the school of 1,300 students.

"We gave one whack each. They were very light for girls," Thomas said. The corporal punishment was conducted privately, with students sent individually to a room and paddled, officials said. Principal Marion Bass, who helped Thomas administer the punishment, said none of the parents had contacted him to complain.

It also turned out that part of the problem with skipped detention sessions was only because of a teacher's poorly kept records, Thomas said.