District reports decline in discipline referrals, notes bookkeeping error on tardies

The Waynesville School District presented its 2024–25 discipline report at the July board meeting, showing declines in districtwide referrals and suspensions compared with prior years and highlighting trends by building and student ethnicity.

Presenter Mrs. Long shared a six-year comparison showing an overall reduction of 1,756 referrals from the previous year and described similar three-year trend charts for the high school, middle school and elementary buildings. She said the high school and career center data are combined for reporting and noted a significant reduction in recorded tardies, but added that a bookkeeping error affected that number and will be corrected for next year.

Why it matters: discipline data inform intervention and support planning, including alternative suspension options and efforts to reduce missed instructional time. Mrs. Long noted reductions in out-of-school suspensions and use of in-school and alternative programs to keep students engaged.

Details: the report included breakdowns by behavior and by student ethnicity, and presenters said staff will use the data to analyze areas of concern and create building-level support plans as needed.

Board reaction: questions from board members were invited; no formal policy changes or votes were recorded during the report presentation.