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Buchanan board suspends student 15 days after closed-session discipline hearing
Summary
After a closed-session disciplinary hearing, the Buchanan Community Schools Board of Education found that a student possessed two pocket knives in a weapon-free school zone but concluded the student did not know the items were dangerous and voted to suspend the student for 15 school days rather than expel them.
The Buchanan Community Schools Board of Education adopted a resolution April 20, 2026, suspending a student for 15 school days after a closed-session disciplinary hearing that found the student possessed two pocket knives in a weapon-free school zone.
Board President Dr. Burnett moved the resolution after the board reconvened in open session following a closed hearing held under section 8b of the Open Meetings Act. The resolution states that a preponderance of the evidence establishes the student possessed two pocket knives (one with a three-quarter–inch blade and the other with a three-and-three-quarter–inch blade) on April 9. The board also found clear and convincing evidence that the student “did not know or have reason to know that the object or instrument constituted a dangerous weapon,” and therefore the student is not permanently expelled.
The resolution directs that the student be suspended for a total of 15 school days, may not be on school grounds or attend district functions during the suspension without prior written approval from an appropriate administrator, and upon return will be placed on a formal behavioral intervention plan established by the Buchanan High School assistant principal. Administrators were delegated authority to implement the terms of the resolution.
The motion was approved by roll call. The board members recorded as present during the vote were Mr. Carlson, Mr. Brown, Ms. Lesh, Dr. Carlin, Dr. Burnett and Ms. Barry; the record in the meeting shows each of those members voting yes on the resolution.
The disciplinary hearing itself was conducted in closed session to protect student privacy as permitted by statute; the board’s summary of findings and the resulting resolution were read in open session. The resolution notes that parents were notified of the charge, the time and place of the hearing, and that the student and the student’s representatives had an opportunity to respond and present evidence.
What happens next: administrators were authorized to carry out the resolution, the student will be subject to the behavioral intervention plan upon return, and the board finalized the matter at the April 20 meeting. The board announced its next regular meeting for May 18, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
