The Nation - News from Jan. 13, 1988

Controversial principal Joe Clark, who roams the hallways of Eastside High School in Paterson, N.J., armed with a baseball bat and bullhorn, said he has changed his mind and plans to stay on rather than accept a job offer from Gary L. Bauer, head of President Reagan’s office of policy development. Clark, 50, came to national attention after Reagan and Education Secretary William J. Bennett praised his stern approach to dealing with chronic truancy and failure among students. The principal once kicked out 300 students at once. When he recently threw out 60 more students, saying they were “leeches” who probably would never graduate, the school board brought disciplinary charges against him for not consulting with them. Those charges are pending.