Last night the High Point High School Board of Education voted to "Sunset" the school's German Program. Students who are currently studying German in a classroom setting will be able to continue but in coming students will not. The board did not indicate a petition with over 400 signatures from students and parents had influenced their decision but it might have. Future High Point Students who wish to study German will have the option to take classes on line. School officials did not directly comment on allegations that they tried to bully 15 year old student Nicholas Southard who started the petition to continue the German Program. However, School Superintendent Scott Ripley did say "Everything we do here is to affirm and love children, but unfortunately economics demands allocation of scare resources, and difficult decisions need to be made." Ripley and curriculum director Seamus Campbell both expressed their support for the rights of students to petition the board and comment on decisions the board has to make that are important to them.
Source: New Jersey Herald