Karns City Area School District officials are trying to avoid a student walkout planned for Thursday to protest the expulsion of a student over an alleged fight earlier this month at Butler Vo-Tech.

Karns City Area School District administrators have met with high school students and contacted parents in an effort to avoid a student walkout planned for Thursday to protest the expulsion of a student over an alleged fight.

Social media posts from students said a walkout is being planned for noon to protest the expulsion of a senior following a recent fight at the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School in Butler Township. Township police said the fight took place April 9 and remains under investigation.

The student, who was suspended for 10 days and then expelled, will not be allowed to attend commencement or the prom, according to the posts.

“Unfortunately, several Karns City students were involved in a serious incident at the Butler County Area Vocational Technical School. This was not an incident of boys-being-boys, but an inexcusable violation of both schools’ discipline policies that resulted in physical injury to another student. The severity of the conduct warranted the consequences issued by the board. The incident is under investigation by the Butler Township Police, and the school district will continue to work with the police and the votech to address this incident fully,” said David Ritzert, Karns City superintendent.

He said the district became aware of the call for a walkout Tuesday, and Principal Mike Stimac met with students and sent a message to parents Wednesday.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Thursday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.