Hit the Pocketbook

School Administrator, Nov, 1995

Can the threat of a financial penalty deter student misbehavior?

The Rutland school district thinks so. A recently implemented city ordinance permits police to issue tickets, carrying fines from $50 to $500, to disruptive students.

"We're hopeful this will put pressure on parents to say to a kid, 'Hey, you cost me $750 for that fight you got into,'" says Larry Lattanzi, associate principal at 950-student Rutland High. Under Vermont law, parents are responsible for up to $1,000 of their children's debts.

The new ordinance was reproduced in a school handbook distributed to parents and students this fall.