South Pointe students, parents petition to ‘impeach’ new Rock Hill school principal

As students wrap up the first week of classes in Rock Hill, parents and students of South Pointe High School say the school’s new leadership has led to strict rules and a feeling of “prison.”

However, school district leaders say that isn’t the whole story.

Marty Conner was named principal of South Pointe after long-time leader Al Leonard retired. Leonard led the school since it opened in 2005.

Parents and South Pointe students have started an “Impeach Marty Conner” petition. As of Friday morning, the petition had more than 1,500 signatures, with a goal of 2,500.

Reasons to remove Conner listed in the petition include new rules, such as a limit on bathroom passes for the year before referrals are given, and a rule that requires students to stay in the lunch room during lunch period.

The petition states South Pointe students feel that Conner has created a “hostile environment in the school.”

Conner, in a letter to parents Friday morning, which was obtained by The Herald, addressed what he called “misperceptions and misinformation” that have “caused distractions to the quality of learning.”

Conner addressed several concerns in the letter to parents, including a limit of four passes per class, per semester, to leave class, with exceptions for emergencies. He said a school committee made that decision to promote safety.

Conner said there have been no dress code changes, and that a schedule change was made to allow more students to attend the Applied Technology Center.

He said the school has decided to limit access to the large school gallery during lunch for safety purposes.

Conner said: “I know South Point families, faculty, staff, and I understand the importance of protecting our South Pointe image, and not allowing misinformation to tarnish what has been established over the past thirteen years.”

A statement from Mychal Frost, spokesperson for the Rock Hill school district, said complaints in the petition are not an accurate picture of what is happening in the school.

Frost said no referrals are given for students using the restroom, and there have been no changes to the student dress code at South Pointe.

“The petition includes a great amount of misunderstanding of pre-existing practices at the school, including restroom access and dress code,” said Frost’s statement. “There has been a misrepresentation of the pre-existing and unchanged dress code.”

Students who signed the petition wrote that they are without access to vending machines at lunch, are limited to where they can go and say Conner is treating them like middle schoolers.

Frost said students are restricted to where they can be during lunch for safety reasons.

Frost said: “As a matter of safety for everyone, modifications to areas upperclassmen could go during lunch have been made. For example, the school cafeteria opens into a large gallery and commons area that is adjacent to the front lobby. Guests entering the lobby and being ‘buzzed’ into the gallery were able to easily interact directly with students. It has been determined for reasons of safety, security and supervision that this practice needed to be changed.”

Frost said grade-level meetings are being held in the school to inform students of the policies.

“With an increasing importance on school safety and security, it is important for the conversations to take place with students and allow students and school leadership to learn from each other in this process,” the statement says.

Frost also said: “Additional opportunities are being led by the school’s student council to work with school leadership more closely on future decisions that impact students.”

One parent, identified on the petition as Rusty Titchenal, wrote he can understand the issue from both the viewpoint of Connor and the students.

“Nobody likes change. He has only been on the job for 3 days,” Titchenal wrote. “I say give him a chance. The lunch room rules must be for safety.”

“From a student standpoint, they feel like they are being punished and their freedom is being taken away -- something as simple as being able to go outside during lunch and socialize with their friends is very important,” Titchenal wrote.

Conner did not provide a direct statement. But in the letter, he told parents, “We have made every effort to make the opening of school a safe, secure, and smooth transition.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2018 at 12:16 PM.