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I feel a bit exploited...

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get_toasted
Posts: 422 - Karma: 15
Ok so here's the situation:

I got thrown into a small private school in SLC (About 70 kids) this year, I'm 18 and I'm a senior. This last week, my principal gives me a slip telling me I have two hours of detention, along with a 10$ fine for excessive tardies last quarter... I was late to class a total of SIX times. So i'm like "Wtf, whatever." Detention is scheduled bright and early Saturday morning at 8am, and i'm told to report to my counselor's house and she'll have work for me.

So this morning, I arrive to her giant fucking mansion at 8:02, with 4 other kids (who are all under 18) that were also assigned detention. It's POURING rain. Turns out she's planning on having some garden social la-dee-fuckin-da party tonight, and she needs things tidied up. Here's a recap of my two hour detention:
-I fix her sprinkler main, which froze and cracked over the winter.
-I pressure wash her deck and patio furniture
-She just had a new driveway installed, and the cement crew left a lot of their tools and supplies in her yard. I move loads of rebar, pvc pipe, 2x4's, and tools clear to the other side of her house. Oh yeah, and her new driveway is about as long as 2 basketball courts, and I'm not aloud to walk on it... I have to walk around.
All in the pouring rain.

The other kids do her gardening, rake and clean her yard, and other physical labor while she and her douchebag husband (who treated me like i'm some sort of illegal immagrant worker or something)  sit on her patio, and converse and laugh. 10 o'clock rolls around and i'm ready to get the fuck out of there, so I ask her If I can leave. She tells me I have to pay my 20$ fine for detention. I thought It was 10$. She says NOPE, 2 hours, 20$! I reluctantly give her the money and leave.

I'm not complaining about the work. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. My question is simply, IS THIS LEGAL?! I feel kind of exploited. Oh, and if I hadn't gone to the detention, I get more hours and fines added on, and the school holds my diploma until I serve the time.


Spark Notes: Saturday morning detention: I wake up at 7am and fix my counselor's sprinkler main, pressure wash her porch and patio furniture, and clean her yard for 2 hours, in the pouring rain. I also pay a 20$ fee on top of this. Is this shit legal?!
May 2 2009 2:06PM
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east_toast
Posts: 479 - Karma: 16
I think private schools can do what ever the fuck they want but I dont really know anything about the subject
May 2 2009 2:10PM
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Calb3rt
Posts: 6005 - Karma: 2,203
i'm pretty sure thats not legal.... they are using school detentions as a means for free privatized manual labor.
May 2 2009 2:11PM
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-_-Johnny-_-
Posts: 480 - Karma: 39
most definately not! sue her bitch ass
May 2 2009 2:13PM
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Jordan
Posts: 4079 - Karma: 2,122
I am pretty sure that's not legal as well.

1) You're doing manual labor for HER.

2) You pay a fine? What the fuck?
May 2 2009 2:13PM
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get_toasted
Posts: 422 - Karma: 15
I'm most definately gonna see if I can make a bit of skrilla from this whole ordeal...
May 2 2009 2:15PM
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andrew.
Posts: 2349 - Karma: 165
definitely go see a lawyer about this.  i dont know too much about law, but this sounds very illegal.
May 2 2009 2:15PM
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buckers
Posts: 448 - Karma: 12
There is not a chance that is legal.


May 2 2009 2:16PM
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jason...
Posts: 9006 - Karma: 780
So you paid her for work you did? That doesn't seem right.
May 2 2009 2:22PM
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get_toasted
Posts: 422 - Karma: 15
Not right at all... and I'm not sure If there's much I can do about it since it's a private school. I'm gonna look into it further.
May 2 2009 2:25PM
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Bob_Gnarley
Posts: 1583 - Karma: 0
WTF that is screwed up. Definitely get a lawyer and fuck this bitch over. I would have never paid a fine, even if it meant I got kicked out of school.
May 2 2009 2:28PM
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*Fujative*
Posts: 8554 - Karma: 183
SLC might be a bit strange, but I have never heard for that before. Contact the school board.
May 2 2009 2:31PM
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get_toasted
Posts: 422 - Karma: 15
Haha the funny thing is that this school is a Christian school. "Salt Lake Lutheran Highschool"
So basically It's a bunch of Christians exploiting minors into getting free labor.
May 2 2009 2:37PM
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currentwestman
Posts: 3292 - Karma: 330
hahaha when you put it that way its fucking hilarious

seriously though, go see a lawyer if you need some cash!
May 2 2009 2:37PM
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Z_rob
Posts: 3076 - Karma: 152
ya dude thats bs idk if its legal or not but that is bullshit.

especially the part where you have to pay them for being tardy. considering its a private school they are already milking a fortune out of your parents for every year you attend, and then they charge you for being late to class and make you do work. doesnt sound legal
May 2 2009 2:38PM
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no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,272
basically what my school is doing now, except it's not for detention, every kid has to do it

it's perfectly understandable that all private schools got hit hard with the recession but my school has decided to make sophmores, only sophmores, which i am, dedicate their free periods to work around the school so that they can fire some staff people and save money
so we have to pick some form of work detail and do it during a free period, i have to do grounds crew so we go and do the kind of labor you described mainly on the headmaster's fucking house
the fact that they forced us all into this eventhough none of us were in trouble and they make us work in our free time pisses me off. i've always been happy to help out the community or do stuff like this but only on my own volition, when i'm forced into it i get pissed off. and to add insult to injury my school paid ben from ben and jerry's 20,000 bucks to come to our school and sweat for 30 mins while he talked about how fat jerry was
i'm still ripshit about this, i'm not being some entitled little bitch who doesn't want to work, i just think my school should get its priorities straight. don't get me wrong, there are plenty of kids at my school who need to get their hands dirty and work for once in their lives but i think it's a little ridiculous that my school pushed us into this and only for sophmores

/rant
May 2 2009 2:46PM
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inactive
Posts: 4772 - Karma: 97
sadly i bet you or your folks singed off on something that makes that legal
May 2 2009 3:19PM
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JABrecon
Posts: 142 - Karma: 10
You would let your principles and a $20 bill stand in the way of getting a diploma?

That's fucked up though man, if you have any family friends that are lawyers run that situation by them and see what they say. The worst part is that someone would be condescending to you when you're helping them and paying them.
May 2 2009 5:35PM
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fupaface
Posts: 810 - Karma: 449
so you paid her $20 to clean up her yard and fix sprinklers and shit
May 2 2009 5:40PM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
make sure you never signed anything that said this could happen and talk to a lawyer.

thats what i like about public schools....everything is clearly stated, and this type of shit cant happen
May 2 2009 5:43PM
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blackoutbill
Posts: 2918 - Karma: 282
That sucks. Your school year is almost over right?
May 2 2009 5:51PM
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neutralzombie
Posts: 8629 - Karma: 606

haha while i'm sure graduating high school is important to you, you're also 18, and frankly i'd have a giant f-u hand shake for that bitch.

i dont think you should be doing that during detention. go sit in an empty room instead doing nothing for two hours.  you're already paying for school so the fine can go to hell...and well frankly i hope you'll think twice about being late now.

May 2 2009 5:53PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Salt Lake City Tribune's tip line:

pegmcentee@sltrib.com
(801) 257-8742

Just leaving it here.
May 2 2009 5:56PM
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selkirks
Posts: 1978 - Karma: 59
it depends whether she takes the money for herself or it goes to the school. for example, if it goes through the school to her to pay for supervision, that's legal. if it goes directly to her without going through the school's accounting, etc., it may not be legal.
May 2 2009 5:56PM
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Twinjibber77
Posts: 6239 - Karma: 2,354
Someone is gonna enjoy giving tha staff tha Hollywood Hello on tha way across his graduation stage!
May 2 2009 5:56PM
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thecounty
Posts: 1450 - Karma: 290
yeah man that seems super sketch and flaky. It would be one thing to have you do grounds work on school property, but at her own residence doesn't seem legal to me in the slightest sense. I went to private highschool and shared my fair share of saturday detentions. i had a fine and did some work around the school but never outside of the property lines. I would look into the legal aspect of it, because chances are what she did was wrong, she can't use you as her laborer because she is to cheap to hire a crew. i definitely feel that you could get something out of this.
May 2 2009 6:24PM
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kepler.
Posts: 8761 - Karma: 139
I'd raise hell. Don't be afraid to cause a stir, it's just high school
May 2 2009 6:29PM
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Dan.
Posts: 7201 - Karma: 1,126
graduate, THEN sue.
May 2 2009 6:34PM
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get_toasted
Posts: 422 - Karma: 15
Yeah I'm thinkin I'm gonna talk to a lawyer... but like I said It's a small school so things might get really tense with I and the faculty. I think It may be best to wait til' after graduation... It's only a month away anyways. and maybe I can score a little incentive to help out with college muahaha!

Thanks for the advice amigos +K
May 2 2009 6:39PM
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the.hellion.
Posts: 861 - Karma: 698
There's not much you can do about the gardening work, which I personally feel is kinda weird... but if they're just pocketing the money, perhaps you can find out what they do with it and if they're just keeping it, make a fuss to put it to a good cause, not just the school.

I went to private school too and if they ever tried to pull this shit all the lawyer-parents would have the school's asses in a sling permanently. I have no idea how this would even be possible. I'd understand work around the school more than doing work around the guidance councilor's home... not even a teacher.
fucked.up.
May 2 2009 6:54PM
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gbirrd
Posts: 1475 - Karma: 20

here is what u should do

1. call 911

2. tell them u just got touched by this person

and then ur set from there

May 2 2009 7:00PM
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ski_DC
Posts: 1347 - Karma: 58
i go to a private school as well. Our detention involves picking up trash around the campus, filing stuff, or other menial tasks. this is fine. what your school did, however, is not. First, you were cleaning up a teachers house. off campus. i severely doubt the school has the right to do this. The nature of the work seems questionable too. Finally, paying her the $20 is highly suspect. that should be dealt with through the business office. That being said, I do not think they would be allowed to fine you.
If you are gonna fight this, concentrate on the fact that the work was done off campus, and had nothing to do with making the school a better learning environment. it was at a private residence. that is not right. pm me if you need more help. good luck
May 2 2009 7:06PM
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Delphi
Posts: 3748 - Karma: 36
that's pretty fucked up, but it sure will teach you not to be late as much as you were. Also, quit being a dick, they have money--who gives a shit, they obviously earned it somehow, why should they get shit for it.
May 2 2009 7:07PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
There is no way that your schools administration will keep their jobs if you contact the school board.  That is illegal and unethical.  I can't believe you actually gave her money.
May 2 2009 7:17PM
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get_toasted
Posts: 422 - Karma: 15
An email for who?
The school is Salt Lake Lutheran Highschool
May 2 2009 7:30PM
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Novea
Posts: 158 - Karma: 10
Sounds like a bunch of crap to me.

You already pay a load to get into the school, then they fine you?

Did you get the detention slip in writing?  If so, you can use that as evidence that the counselor is ripping you off.  Yes, sounds illegal to me.  Notify the parentals.
May 2 2009 7:40PM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
I (L) living in the UK. I can't believe there is anywhere this Conservative in the US, but apparently I'm wrong.
May 2 2009 7:43PM
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5432 - Karma: 11,820
getting fined for being tardy? id be so fucking broke. but yeah that doesn't sound right that you had to pay $.
May 2 2009 7:51PM
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