Comments from parents to Dew Independent School District trustees last week split between questioning the school absentee and truancy policy and venting anger.

Trustees heard from parents, some of them charged recently with contributing to failure to attend school, during a public comments portion of the board meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18.

A special meeting has been set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, to address concerns about school absentee rules and their enforcement.

Two weeks ago DISD superintendent Tom Weeaks filed truancy complaints in precinct three justice of the peace court against nine parents and 11 students.

Peace Justice Beth Ireland heard those cases last week and dismissed charges against nine parents and their children.

Two parents and their four children were found in violation of state truancy statutes and were issued deferred probation/ distribution sentences that order the parents to ensure their children attend school regularly.

DISD board president Eric Simpson allowed 30 minutes of the meeting for comments, explaining that no action could be taken because the matter was not on the agenda.

Simpson reports that to get on the board agenda, an individual must make a request five days before the meeting.

One parent says she requested to be on the agenda about truancies, but it was not included in business last week.

Parent B.J. Noland, who was served with a truancy summons, asked the board if members were made aware that the superintendent was going to file the truancy complaints, what the district absentee policy is and why only one person made the decision to file complaints.

He suggests the school attendance committee be consulted before complaints are filed with a court—-the attendance committee is charged with reviewing records of students with a high number of absences, and determine if those students should advance to the next grade.

Noland also questions whether a student should be counted absent if sent home by staff for illness.

"We have no nurse at the school. The secretary is the nurse," Noland says. "My child was sent home three times because she was sick."

He notes that he received a truancy warning letter, but would like to have had a conference with teachers or the superintendent before a complaint was filed.

"You have a lot of parents upset. It seems to me a lot of things are going wrong in this school, in communication between parents and the administration," Noland says.

Venting anger was Dale Hergett, who reports that he has withdrawn his son from DISD and enrolled him in Fairfield ISD.

Hergett admits that he took his son out of school early, 15- 30 minutes, several times but questions whether the school had already taken the daily mandatory roll call used for state funding.

If the mandatory roll call was taken the days his son left school early, and state funding was received by the school, Hergett accuses Weeaks of committing fraud.

The father also declares that his son will not attend Dew school as long as Weeaks is superintendent.

Parent Monique Adams, who was served with a truancy summons, and other parents claim that they receive conflicting information on the number of absences their children have, and reports she has met 5-6 times with the superintendent.

"Every meeting I have had with him, he has said something different," Mrs. Adams says.

She says that Texas Education Policy states that only unexcused or voluntary absences can be counted in truancy cases, and that absences by her daughter, a first grade student, were excused because of illness and attendance at a funeral.

The mother also claims that Weeaks told her if she didn't like Dew ISD policies, she was welcome to enroll her daughter in Fairfield ISD, the district in which she lives.

Parent Tammy McElroy, who was served a truancy summons, says her fourth grade son has missed eight days of school this year and points out that the maximum number of absences allowed in a semester is 10.

The mother says she has sent either doctor's notes or personal notes to the school for all her son's absences, and that she thought they were all excused.

However, in court last week school records showed her son with four unexcused absences.

Mrs. McElroy says she tried to meet with Weeaks on a Friday, but the superintendent was out of town, and that she was served with a truancy summons two days later.

Parent Fred Olivera, who has two children attending Dew school, admits that his children have been tardy this year, and that they are scared to go to school when they may be tardy.

"We have a good school here. I would love for my kids to continue to go to school here, and they will. But, something is messing things up, and it is fear," Olivera says.

In response, Simpson declares: "I assure you the goal of this board and the superintendent is not to run anyone off."

At the end of the board meeting last week, trustees agreed to set a special meeting for Dec. 4 to provide answers to absentee and truancy questions.

The board meeting started with administration of oaths of office for returning trustees Kim Massey and Clyde Allen, and new trustee Lisa Webb.

DISD trustees elected officers for the 2008-09 school year, who will assume their duties in December. Elected are: president David Fowler, vice president Chuck Lopez and secretary Kim Massey.