The Nation - News from Jan. 29, 1988

A New Jersey school board dropped all charges against Joe Clark, the bat-carrying principal whose tough-minded approach won praise from the Reagan Administration, but said the accusations against him warranted further investigation. Neither Clark nor any of his supporters attended the brief meeting at which the Paterson Board of Education voted to send allegations that he improperly suspended 66 students last year back to the superintendent of schools. Highly placed supporters such as President Reagan and Education Secretary William J. Bennett have praised Clark’s authoritarian style, saying he has transformed Eastside High School from a violent blackboard jungle into a respectable school where students have a chance to learn.