UNDERCOVER OFFICER FINDS DRUG USE, BUT NOT ON SCHOOL GROUNDS

GARDEN CITY -- An undercover police officer who posed as a student for four
weeks at Garden City High School found many students who admitted smoking
marijuana but saw no drug activity on school grounds, police said.

Principal Kevin Burr asked the police department in April to provide an
undercover officer to investigate persistent rumors about drug use in and
around the school.

Garden City police Capt. Michael Utz said the officer talked to many
students who readily admitted using marijuana but observed no drug use
around the school.

"The school board for a number of years has been pushing safety issues,"
said superintendent Milt Pippenger. "This provides us an outside look at
how we're doing."

Pippenger said he was mostly pleased with the results of the investigation,
which proved that prevention and intervention programs already in place are
working.

However, it was apparent that there was drug use outside the school, Utz said.

"We're concerned that this confirms what the surveys have suggested about
drug use," said Burr, who added that the anecdotal evidence gathered will
help the school develop new intervention programs.

Burr said the undercover investigation is probably the most effective
measure available for gathering information about drug use at the schools.
It's possible undercover officers will be used again in the future.

"A lot of what we do in the future depends on case-by-case needs," Utz
said. "If the situation warrants and we have an opportunity to place an
officer in the school, we'll look at it."

Burr and Pippenger did not think that students would be disturbed by the
possibility of undercover cops in the school.

"Again and again the students have said that they're interested in having
as safe an environment as possible," Burr said. "I'd think this would go
along with that."