Barrow Journal

The Barrow County Board of Education discussed Tuesday night having a policy dealing with system employees interacting with students via Facebook, MySpace and the Internet in general.

Superintendent Ron Saunders said there is a need to define what is proper interaction among staff and students in these area and wanted to use guidelines set up by the Georgia School Board Association.

“We are trying to give some standards for what is professional,” the superintendent said. “We want to set the record straight. We aren’t the first school system to do this.”

BOE member Mark Still had a problem with some of the wording of the proposed policy.

“I am an adult,” Still said. “If I am at a party and have a beer in my hand and someone takes a picture and posts it, does that mean it’s inappropriate?”

Some principals in attendance at the meeting said it would be helpful to have a written policy concerning Facebook and MySpace accounts. The item will be brought up again next month.

In anticipation of the annual Battle of Barrow football game, the 2009 Tailgate Barrow will be held from 6-9 p.m. Thursday. [Full Story »]