Prescription drugs lead to 20 expulsions- test for board

DINGMAN —Delaware Valley School Board members last week needed to deal with prescription drug related expulsions of 20 high school students in the preceding three weeks. Superintendent Dr. Candis Finan said the expulsions were the result of “poor choices,” on the students part, not any comprehensive investigation on the district’s part. During the period, she said ambulances had been called to the Westfall campus on two occasions for overdose situations. Both of the hospitalized students recovered. In addition to facing expulsion, all 20 cases were turned over to police for criminal prosecution, she said. Finan said the district has not had a comparable volume of expulsions since the late 1990’s when DV instituted its “zero-tolerance” and drug testing policies. In an Apr. 8 letter to parents, which was mailed rather than hand-carried home, high school principals Michael Lacika and Joseph Casmus wrote that students were both selling and giving away the narcotics. Drug incidents have been happening two or three times a week for almost a month. Drugs such as valium, fentanyl, flexeril, oxycontine, darvocet N, klonopin, butalbital and synthroid have been involved, the letter explained. Meeting at a worksession on the Dingman campus on Apr. 10, the board was not only facing related policy and corrections issues, but the question of 20 separate disciplinary hearings of two or more hours each. Member John Wroblewski pointed out the difficulty for board members, “all with full-time jobs or other activities,” to attend. He suggested that a hearing officer, which most districts employ rather than board members, take on the judicial role. Board Solicitor Michael Weinstein, who acts as a referee at these hearings countered that board involvement is important and occasionally tempers outcomes. Board President Bob Goldsack agreed saying he favored retaining the existing system. “I don’t like losing our control and opinions,” he said. Goldsack and other members said they would make themselves available for hearings. Wroblewski, who is a pharmacist, suggested guidance for all parents with adolescent children at home: • Don’t keep prescription drugs in the medicine cabinet, use a lock box. • Be sure to safely discard unused or outdated prescription drugs. • Pick up your own mail and know what is in it. “Anything can be ordered over the Internet,” he said.