
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 25, 1995                   TAG: 9502270043
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BILL ASBURY|
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PULASKI COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT WEIGHS IN|

Pulaski County's school superintendent says he depended mainly on what drama teacher Rhonda Welsh told him about her dispute with a hotel employee during a student field trip when he set her punishment at 10 days suspension without pay. The county's School Board reduced the number of days to five this week after hearing her appeal.

Following are excerpts from a statement Superintendent Bill Asbury released Friday:

The incidents which occurred on the now infamous field trip to Colonial Heights were not representative of Rhoda Welsh in our opinion. I am aware that there are various accounts of those incidents from our students, chaperones, bus driver and hotel employees. I am aware that there are differences in the testimonies not only between Pulaski people who were on the trip and hotel employees, but ... differences between the stories of the Pulaski people. ... That is why I depended primarily on the story told to me by Rhonda Welsh. I believe she told me the truth.

Rhonda is a fine drama teacher with a good record at PCHS [Pulaski County High School] and other schools over her career. Our drama program is one of the finest in the state. She has developed some of the most creative students we have personally ever witnessed in the drama field.

Yes, we understand she was frustrated and upset over the perceived unfair treatment our students were receiving in the restaurant. But what patron can get away with screaming at an employee in a restaurant and grabbing food from them and distributing it to their friends and family?

It has been stated that our coaches may lose their temper and scream at a referee ... The point of reference is inappropriate and unrelated to the incident in question. Behaviors on the athletic field and on the rehearsal stage are tolerated and have been tolerated within certain limits, and accepted in the culture surrounding these events which in and of themselves are loud and boisterous. Even then, if necessary, we will discipline that coach or teacher if, in our opinion, the behavior is so extreme as to be intolerable. And we have.

Ms. Welsh could have gone to the manager of the hotel and filed a complaint and sought immediate relief for her students. If the sought-after relief was not granted, then she could have done what she ended up doing ... take the students elsewhere for breakfast.

We sincerely hope that Ms. Welsh has learned some positive lessons from this experience and that she will continue to delight us with her excellent leadership in the drama program at PCHS. We are proud of our drama students and sincerely hope that they, too, will put this behind them as they perform.

Bill Asbury is the superintendent of Pulaski County Schools.

by CNB