Crackdown on Truant Students Nabs Some Offenders

A crackdown on students who are taking advantage of the teachers strike to cut class at Strongsville High School is apparently keeping kids off the streets, an official said.

Police Chief James Kobak said late last week that said 11 students have been picked up for truancy since April 2.

"To be honest, in a school district this big, that's not bad," Kobak said. "I'm pleasantly surprised."

The department put officers on the lookout for truant students after fielding complaints from residents about teens leaving Strongsville High School and hanging around neighborhoods and businesses during the day.

Strongsville not only has a nighttime curfew for minors, but also has an ordinance that prohibits students from being out and about when they are supposed to be in class.

None of the 11 students was causing trouble, Kobak said.

"As an example, we stopped two students who were walking down Lunn Road," he said. "They had left school to go to breakfast."

The chief believes getting the word out about the curfew crackdown led parents to talk to their kids about staying in school.

The teens who were apprehended were taken to the police station and their parents called to pick them up.

Kobak said the department will consult wth the juvenile court to determine how best to handle the cases.

Some students at Strongsville High School are allowed to leave the building when they are finished with classes for the day. 

But there are also reports of teens taking advantage of substitute staff and simply leaving the high school during the day.

When officers see kids on the streets, they first check with the school to find out whether they are supposed to be in class before taking them into custody, the chief said.