To spank or not: Gaston one of few school districts still using the paddle.

Children who misbehave in Gaston County Schools could get paddled rather than put in time out with corporal punishment still in effect.

Gaston County Schools is one of 46 school districts that allow corporal punishment, according to an Action for Children North Carolina survey released Wednesday.

Of the 115 school districts in the state, 69 ban corporal punishment, 20 permit corporal punishment but did not hit students last school year and 26 local districts permit corporal punishment and used that measure to discipline students last school year, according to the report.

Why and how it’s used

From the first day of school in August through Tuesday Gaston County Schools administered corporal punishment 27 times, said spokeswoman Bonnie Reidy.

Gaston County Schools Superintendent Reeves McGlohon said that the system surveyed administrators two years ago to find out their opinions on corporal punishment.

“They felt it was something that helped maintain discipline,” McGlohon said.

Individual principals make decisions on what offenses merit corporal punishment, he said. McGlohon has not received any complaints about it in the four years he’s been superintendent.

Rankin Elementary does not use paddling, but Principal Ron Foulk said that procedures are in place to protect a child.

Foulk said he would look at corporal punishment as a last alternative after talking with parents and trying to come up with other choices. He hasn’t had a problem that came to the point where paddling might be an option, he said.

“It can’t be done off the cuff,” Foulk said.

Frequency of use

Gaston County Schools reported using corporal punishment 49 times last year.

The State Board of Education does not have policies or collect data about corporal punishment, according to the report.

Tom Vitaglione, senior fellow with Action for Children, said his group sent a survey to all school districts asking for three things — how many times corporal punishment was used during the 2008-09 school year, the name of the person sending in the information and the person’s title.

Burke County reported the most incidents with corporal punishment used 325 times last year, according to the report. Caswell and Randolph counties each reported one incidence of using corporal punishment last school year, the least among counties that use the measure.

Neighbors say no

Cleveland County Schools banned corporal punishment last year, said spokeswoman Donna Carpenter.

“Our superintendent Dr. Boyles is not a proponent of it and believes, as a majority of our administrators do, that there are other ways. There are better ways,” Carpenter said. “It was used very little anyway.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools halted corporal punishment in 1991.

“Research has shown it’s not productive. If anything, it causes detrimental effects for the child and family,” said spokeswoman Cynthia Shah-Khan. “It’s not something that our district supports.”

Lincoln County Schools allows corporal punishment, but did not use it last school year, according to Action for Children North Carolina.

“Although not encouraged, corporal punishment may be administered at all levels,” states the Lincoln County Board of Education policy. “However, it is not generally recommended for older pupils.”

Local schools decide

UNC Charlotte educational leadership professor James Lyons said he can’t condemn a school board for using corporal punishment when it’s allowed by the state.

Lyons said the Legislature opted to allow local freedom rather than having an across the board policy. If local communities don’t want corporal punishment, they can bring that up to the school board, he said. Communities that support corporal punishment can keep it an option.

But Lyons does not personally recommend paddling.

“There’s not a lot of research that I can find over the years that says it is effective,” Lyons said. “It may be effective with some, but not necessarily for all of them.”

Using corporal punishment also places a burden on educators to determine what level of punishment is appropriate, Lyons said.

Lyons said he would recommend that the Legislature ban corporal punishment from North Carolina schools all together.

“If it’s inappropriate for supervisors and guards in the Department of Correction to administer it on prisoners, then why should we use it on students?” Lyons asked.

You can reach Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839.

Gaston County Schools corporal punishment policy

The Gaston County Board of Education policy allows a principal, assistant principal or teacher to use corporal punishment, which must be done in front of a second school official.

Students must be told of the types of behavior that could result in corporal punishment and warned in advance with a second school official present before they are punished that way, according to policy. The punishment should not be done in front of other students. Corporal punishment can’t be used if a child doesn’t complete class assignments or homework.

A paddle is used to spank a child’s buttocks when corporal punishment is used, according to the policy. Educators can’t slap or hit a student on the face, shake them or hit their hands with a ruler.

Parents would be notified when corporal punishment is used on their child. A parent can request the school official to provide a written explanation of the reasons and the name of the other school official who watched the punishment.