JAY – School Committee members voted to expel a high school senior who didn’t complete conditions that were added to a suspension he was given in March in lieu of expulsion.

The student also won’t be graduating with classmates, School Committee Chairman Clint Brooks said.

The individual was accused of putting a plastic water bottle in a bathroom trash can that allegedly exploded after school one day in March.

He was suspended for 10 days and recommended for expulsion.

But after nearly three hours of deliberations, School Committee members rejected administrators’ expulsion recommendation.

Instead, they gave the student an alternate punishment, which included the suspension as well as doing 50 hours of volunteer service at Jay schools by May 30.

Though the student wrote a letter of apology, Brooks said, the volunteer service wasn’t completed. There was a minimum of hours completed and several times the student didn’t show to clean around the school, he said.

At the time of the initial expulsion hearing, Brooks said, there was some question about the device placed in the trash can and how that interpretation could potentially affect the outcome of an expulsion hearing.

In March, Brooks said “that it was a very difficult decision that was eventually reached. The board is keenly aware of the impact of its actions and sincerely believes that this case, as will cases of potential expulsion, had to be judged on its own merits. We take our responsibility seriously and attempt to make decisions that we feel are in the best interests of all concerned within the educational community.”

On Wednesday, Brooks said he still thinks it’s important for the board to examine alternatives to expulsion and make decisions on a case by case basis.

This time, he said, the alternative didn’t work.

dperry@sunjournal.com