29 students punished after penny protest

READINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - February 29, 2008 Readington Township school officials gave 29 students detention after they used pennies to pay for their $2 lunches.

Superintendent Jorden Schiff says it started out as a prank. But as the eighth-graders began to get in trouble for taking up so much time, it turned into a protest about Thursday's shortened lunch period.

Schiff says the students were punished for holding up their peers and disrespecting lunch aides.

Schiff says some parents think a two-day detention went too far and others think it wasn't enough.

The school says it wants students to know they can express themselves without disrupting other people.

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