Friday, May 20, 2005

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PTO head responds to Booth controversy

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Not everyone agrees the school dress code is being enforced to retaliate against parents who took Booth Middle School officials to task regarding how they handled sexual faux-pas and a list of 30 people in the community who were marked for death.

And Cele Eifert, the PTO president, wants to set the record straight.

Last Friday, Patricia Lowther spoke about how Booth Middle School Principal Tom Lombard treated parents following the arrest of a parent at the school.

That morning, Alvin Leonard Crouch, 43, of Saint Dustan’s Court, Peachtree City, was charged with simple battery, disrupting a public school, abuse of a teacher/non-student, failure to leave a public school and disorderly conduct following an incident with Lombard.

Peachtree City police indicated Crouch shoved Lombard into a desk, causing minor injuries and ripping the buttons off of his shirt during a conversation regarding the school dress code.

Crouch’s eighth grade daughter summoned her parents to the school after she was observed “dressed inappropriately.” Lombard told the student to call a parent to bring a change of clothes.

Lowther indicated she had an unpleasant encounter with Lombard over the dress code, and she understood Crouch’s frustration.

“He is dismissive and condescending,” Lowther said Friday. “While I wasn’t there, I think I’ve experienced something similar this week. I just didn’t hit him. I do not condone violence, and at the same time I feel badly because I can understand how this guy can incite this kind behavior in someone. This man can incite that from the calmest person in the world.”

A message to Lombard was intercepted by a receptionist who said the principal declined to offer a rebuttal.

Lowther said school officials are retaliating against the students by enforcing the dress code because parents chastised them regarding a scandal involving students having oral sex on a bus trip and in the classroom and a “To Kill List,” detailing 30 students, teachers and Peachtree City police officers, a teen student wanted dead.

Eifert, who occasionally substitutes at the school, said she strongly disagrees with Lowther’s comments and she indicated that other people she spoke to at the school also disagreed.

“They don’t see it the way the Crouches and the Lowthers see it,” Eifert said referring to the allegation that the school dress code is being used as a form of retaliation. “That has absolutely no connection. For someone to make a connection like that is just ludicrous.”

Eifert said the school dress code has been in effect since August. Each parent has to sign a form stating they understand the rules and questioned Crouch’s reaction.

She indicated parents are shifting the blame to school officials when instead parents should ensure their children are dressed appropriately.

She said the school gives a fashion show to show students what is deemed acceptable at Booth.

“The number of dress code violations is less than 5 percent,” said Eifert, a retired lieutenant colonel. ““They are victimizing themselves and probably should have been more attentive to what their daughter is wearing.”

Eifert said many positives about the school are often overlooked by the media because they are not “sensational.” She chastised The Citizen for what she called an “unbalanced” initial account of the principal incident.

She indicated some people might take Lowther’s comments as gospel, but she added it’s simply untrue.

“She has a very different perspective of the situation,” Eifert said repeatedly adding she didn’t want to alienate Lowther who she deemed a friend. “Her perspective would be a minority.”