# Hol-eeee Crap!! School Suspends Student...After Spying on Him **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510 "2010-02-18T19:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/361 "2010-04-20T16:54:13Z")
**SmartAleq** , I’d just wish that I could believe the lion’s share of the cost of this expensive lesson were to come from the pockets of the people who made these decisions, rather than the district taxpayers who were never even informed of the system’s existence. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/362 "2010-04-20T16:57:10Z")
The cash settlement for this case is going to be a wash for a lot of parents. They’ll get some dough, but their taxes will go up to pay for the settlement. The people who get screwed are all the non-parents who live in the district. They get the higher taxes without any compensation at all. 'Tis a pity that a permanent 90% lien on the earnings of every administrator involved isn’t possible. Or enough money, either. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/363 "2010-04-20T17:28:03Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > No. What’s unfortunate is that it’s going to cost the taxpayers in the school district tremendously. What’s unfortunate is the effect on the student’s education as the school’s budget in the future is likely to be severely stressed by the need to pay out a well-deserved punitive settlement. That’s basically what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/364 "2010-04-20T20:20:48Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Different strokes, man. And photo-documented ones, too! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/365 "2010-04-20T20:40:15Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > No. What’s unfortunate is that it’s going to cost the taxpayers in the school district tremendously. What’s unfortunate is the effect on the student’s education as the school’s budget in the future is likely to be severely stressed by the need to pay out a well-deserved punitive settlement. > > What’s appalling is that I believe that some of the people actually involved in making this decision may not even be civilly accountable for their actions, let alone criminally accountable. I’m sure as shit not holding my breath to see them having to make any substantive sacrifices. > > While not the same thing - you might want to take a look at the idiocy involved with the Phoebe Prince suicide case. The prosecutor is perfectly willing to bring criminal charges against the kids involved in the harassment, including that lovely catch-all “denying civil rights.” But while she asserts that the administration and faculty were appalling ineffective, and that their lack of action was greatly disturbing, not one person in actual authority is going to be facing so much as an official slap on the wrist. > > Oh, yeah, in that suicide case? Massachusetts has a law that makes it impossible to sue the administrators for civil damages, either. As I understand it, at equity and in the absence of relevant statute law holding officials harmless, an action taken by a public official: [ul] [li]Not in a policy making position and in accord with public policy – municipal corporation pays[/li][li]In a policy making position in accord with public policy set “hjgher up” or in accord with “reasonable discretion” in administering policy – municipal corporation pays[/li][li]Not in a policy making position and not in accord with public policy – individual is culpable, municipal corporation is held harmless[/li][li]In a policy making position and acting _ultra vires_ – individual is culpable, municipal corporation may or may not be, depending on whether it was negligent in supervising the person acting _ultra vires_[/li][/ul] I may be wrong on this, but that’s what I remember as being the level of protection accorded by hold harmless law for public servants. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/366 "2010-04-20T21:24:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Although I’m glad to have withheld judgment, damn. I really was hoping nobody in such a position could possibly have been this stupid. And it’s not just one person, it seems. Wow. Yes, I was skeptical, but it seems I was wrong – it all now sounds quite damning. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/367 "2010-04-21T02:48:44Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Whoever thought this whole scheme was a good idea probably needs a sound beating. Beating is too good for them. The invasion of privacy issues here are so obvious and great that insanity defense seems to be the only option. Surely there was no intelligence at work here. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/368 "2010-04-21T03:37:30Z")
It’s not just the pictures – can you imagine how freaked some of the students are to think that what they were messaging to friends, what websites they were visiting, may be exposed to all the world – or at least to their parents? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/369 "2010-04-21T14:13:13Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > And, that’s all sad and everything, but was there nobody at any point who said, “Holy fuck, this is a terrible idea. I’d like to lodge an objection so that it’s in the record, please”? > Joe “Yeah, sure, let the record show that when Jane Parent asks why did nobody warn her that her precious little one was being drawn into the underworld of stolen school property, drugs and sex, the newspapers will report that Assistant Superintendent Joe Merijeek argued that kids have a right of privacy from adults. C’mon, Joe, you saw the results fo the Board Election, it was a solid Zero-Tolerance ticket sweep. Besides, you KNOW nobody’s going to sue us and have it made public that we caught their little princess smoking spliffs at a rainbow party!” ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/370 "2010-04-22T14:01:22Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > If they’d bought generic PCs instead of Macs in the first place It’s entirely possible to graduate high school with an excellent education without ever having been provided a laptop computer. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/371 "2010-04-24T18:40:36Z")
Yeah, let’s blame Apple Computer for building great laptops that require less tech support and upkeep instead of the idiots who thought spying on kids was a good idea… talk about a fucked up perspective on life. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/372 "2010-04-24T18:53:17Z")
> [@Dan\_Norder](#): > > Yeah, let’s blame Apple Computer for building great laptops that require less tech support and upkeep instead of the idiots who thought spying on kids was a good idea… talk about a fucked up perspective on life. How is that even related to anything **SmartAleq** said? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/373 "2010-04-24T20:15:14Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > How is that even related to anything **SmartAleq** said? It’s not, except that even _associating_ Apple indirectly with anything unsavory or imperfect is against the Third Commandment of the Book of Jobs. And when heresy is abroad in the world, the acolytes must seek it out and put a stop to it. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/374 "2010-04-24T21:00:25Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s not, except that even _associating_ Apple indirectly with anything unsavory or imperfect is against the Third Commandment of the Book of Jobs. And when heresy is abroad in the world, the acolytes must seek it out and put a stop to it. Talk about a fucked up perspective on life… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/375 "2010-04-24T23:06:41Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Book of Jobs 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/376 "2010-04-25T05:20:33Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The cash settlement for this case is going to be a wash for a lot of parents. They’ll get some dough, but their taxes will go up to pay for the settlement. The people who get screwed are all the non-parents who live in the district. They get the higher taxes without any compensation at all. > > 'Tis a pity that a permanent 90% lien on the earnings of every administrator involved isn’t possible. Or enough money, either. Yep, as much as I am outraged by the school district, as a tax payer without children living in Upper Merion, I’m bracing myself for the impending beating we will take after the dust has settled. And I moved from the next town over, partly because of the school district, as we are planning a family in the near future. Oh the irony! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/377 "2010-04-25T07:58:50Z")
I believe a settlement would be paid by insurance. The raise in taxes to pay higher insurance would not equal the settlement. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/378 "2010-04-25T08:54:30Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I believe a settlement would be paid by insurance. The raise in taxes to pay higher insurance would not equal the settlement. Read just a little bit upthread. The insurance company is trying to bail. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/379 "2010-04-25T09:43:23Z")
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**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/380 "2010-04-25T16:44:01Z")
> [@Musky\_Moon](#): > > Yep, as much as I am outraged by the school district, as a tax payer without children living in Upper Merion, I’m bracing myself for the impending beating we will take after the dust has settled. And I moved from the next town over, partly because of the school district, as we are planning a family in the near future. Oh the irony! So…as a local, and a taxpayer, how loud is the outcry for heads to roll? Is the superintendent elected or appointed? -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510.md?page=20)