By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Students in the Alabaster City School System recorded nearly 44,000 missed days and more than 22,000 tardies during the 2014-2015 school year, school system leaders said during a Sept. 8 town hall meeting.

“Our attendance rate last year was 95.7 percent, which is pretty good. But we don’t want to just be pretty good,” Student Services Coordinator Dorann Tanner said during the truancy town hall meeting at the Alabaster Senior Center. “We’ve got to get better, and it takes a community.”

About 30 people attended the meeting, which was aimed at combating school absenteeism and promoting attendance while the school year is still young.

“The state of Alabama had 13 million absences last year, both excused and unexcused,” said Kay Warfield with the Alabama Department of Education. “Data shows that if they miss fewer than two days in September, they have good attendance for the whole year. But half of students who missed two-to-four days in September missed nearly a month of school throughout the year.”

About 1 percent of students who miss between 35-40 days in a school year graduate on time, Warfield said. Parents of students who miss 30 days of class can be arrested, Tanner said.

Tanner encouraged teachers and parents to stay involved in students’ lives in an effort to keep the students engaged and interested in going to school.

“When we ask kids why they aren’t going to school, they almost never say it’s too hard,” Tanner said. “They usually say I don’t like it. That means they aren’t engaged.”

While Shelby County is one of the safest places to live in the state, it still has its share of drug problems among teens and adults alike, said Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Kevin Turner.

“Get in your kids’ business. A lot of time, we see parents buy them a phone, buy them a car and say ‘Go away and do your thing. Leave us alone,’” Turner said. “Know your kids’ friends, know who they are, ask where they’re going.”

“This has everything to do with your kids and their future,” said Shelby County District Attorney Jill Lee.

Over the past few years, the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force has seen a rise in the amount of marijuana, prescription drugs and especially synthetic marijuana used by teens, Turner said.

“There is a correlation between not being in school and crime,” Turner said. “It takes parents being involved.”