NUMBER OF DRUG SEIZURES GROWING LIKE WEED AT LISD

Pot. Weed. Dope. Marijuana. Whatever it's called, it's being found in the
Lubbock school district at a record rate.

Schools in Lubbock are confiscating significantly more drugs this year than
in the past, statistics show.

Lubbock Independent School District has confiscated drugs 77 times between
September and March in the 2000-2001 school year, said Tom Nichols,
director of police and safety services for LISD.

During the same time the previous school year, drugs were confiscated 58
times. That is a 33 percent increase for this school year.

The number of confiscations has gone up even though LISD has a
zero-tolerance policy on drugs.

Students caught with drugs on campus will be arrested, Fred Hardin,
secondary superintendent for secondary education, said. After that,
students cannot return to school until they complete 25 successful days at
Project Intercept.

''The mind of a 16- or 15-year-old student has the thought that we're
invincible, that the rules apply to everyone but me,'' he said.

Nichols said that not many of the students caught with marijuana or other
drugs on school grounds are repeat offenders. In most cases, the district
is catching new offenders.

''After they are brought to jail and booked there, the administrative
sanctions are heavy,'' he said. ''They can't go back to school for 25 days
for anything.

''If they are in the band, play a sport or anything, it's over. I've seen a
few kids cry hard. It's a lesson learned.''

Almost all cases of drugs in school are marijuana, Nichols said. Marijuana
accounted for 85 percent of the drugs confiscated in LISD schools this
year, compared to 75 percent last year.

Alcohol accounts for most of the last 15 percent of drugs confiscated, he said.

Hardin said he won't turn his back on a problem he knows is there. To help
fix the problem, policies have been changed to help LISD employees keep an
eye out for drugs.

''If they're tardy, many times they are tardy for a reason,'' he said. ''In
the past, the teachers just handled the tardies. Now they have to run by an
assistant principal or a principal while they try to determine if there is
foul play.''

Another effort to rid the schools of drugs is the use of drug-sniffing dogs.

''Everyday, there are dogs somewhere,'' Nichols said.

The administration also is more vigilant in watching for the drugs in
schools now, he said.

''They're being more aggressive before school and after school and at lunch
time,'' he said.

''They're outside and watching the surroundings. They're looking for the
signs.''

Hardin said that, above all else, students feel pride for their schools,
and they don't want drugs involved.

''It's a pride issue,'' he said. ''They feel safe coming to school.''

''There's a lot of support from the kids,'' Nichols agreed. ''Some kids are
starting to be responsible. They know the bad rap public schools are
getting, and they don't want their school like that.

''When a student is handcuffed and brought out of school like that, the
students aren't mad at the police, they're mad at the student for doing
this to their school.''

Statewide and countywide, the numbers have gone up for juveniles arrested
for drugs.

Lubbock County had 143 juveniles arrested on drug charges in 1999, the
latest year statistics are available, compared with 34 arrests in 1990,
Lori Kirk, Department of Public Safety statistician, said.

Texas had 9,413 juveniles arrested for drug charges in 1999 compared with
2,979 in 1990, Kirk said.

The arrest numbers count for all manufacturing, sale and possession of drug
charges combined.

LISD doesn't track the number of arrests on school campuses due to drugs,
but Nichols suspects the number is about 20 percent to 25 percent lower
than the number of times drugs have been confiscated.

Even with the higher confiscation numbers, LISD employees don't believe
more students are using drugs.

''I don't know if there is an actual increase in usage,'' Hardin said.

''It's probably more kids being caught,'' Nichols agreed.