STUDENT'S SUSPENSION SHORTENED

NORTH SALEM - A 16-year-old North Salem High School student will head
back to class today after district administrators were persuaded to
shorten his nine-week suspension for buying marijuana on campus.

Pablo Rodriguez's friends and family had started a campaign to
persuade the school board that nine weeks was too drastic a
suspension, particularly because Rodriguez's mother had found the
small amount of drugs at home and his father had informed the school
and asked for help.

But in the end, Superintendent Kenneth Freeston decided without a
school board hearing to shorten the suspension after meeting with
Rodriguez and his father yesterday.

"I'm really happy because being here at home gets boring," Rodriguez
said. "People might think it's a mini-vacation but it's not."

Rodriguez, a sophomore, got some tutoring while he was out of school,
as is required, but he will continue to be tutored to catch up to his
classmates.

His record will also be cleared in a year if he doesn't get into
trouble. "I won't," he said.

Rodriguez was first suspended Feb. 5 after his mother found the
remains of a marijuana cigarette in his pocket while doing the laundry
and he told his parents that he bought it in the school library for $20.

Rodriguez's father, also named Pablo Rodriguez, took him down to the
school to inform them of the drug problem in their midst. He also
intended for his son to face the consequences of his actions.

But when he was informed after a superintendent's hearing that his son
would be out of school through April 11, he was stunned and felt he
was being punished for his honesty.

"This situation produced big pain in our family," Rodriguez said.

Soon community members began rallying around the family, signing
petitions and attending a board meeting asking the district to
reconsider. Some of Rodriguez's classmates reportedly printed up "Free
Pablo" T-shirts.

On Friday, district officials said the Rodriguezes would be given a
chance to explain why they blew a 10-day deadline to appeal the
suspension to the school board and might be given an appeal. But
yesterday Freeston decided himself to shave more than four weeks off
the punishment.

"In my opinion we've resolved all the outstanding issues," Freeston
said, adding that he is grateful to the Rodriguezes for working
closely with him.

Freeston said he couldn't be specific about why he changed the
punishment, saying that related matters are still under
investigation.

The senior Rodriguez, who works at the former North Salem Vineyard,
said the family is happy with the outcome. Along with his son's
reinstatement, the district is addressing some of the concerns that
led him to go to school officials in the first place. He has been
invited to work with the school district on clarifying the code of
conduct and said the administration has acknowledged that drugs are a
problem.

Freeston said drugs are a community and a school problem that require
constant vigilance. The district is looking to put more money into
security and may consider some more parental education.

High school/middle school PTO president RoseMaria DosSantos said that
a lot of information is already available and programs already
planned. In April the PTOs and the administration are providing some
information on drug and alcohol abuse at Parent University, an annual
seminar for parents.

"The school does their part but I think it has to be a partnership,"
DosSantos said.

Now that the suspension is over, Rodriguez said he learned his lesson.

"It was definitely wrong what I did," he said. "I wasn't thinking when
I did it."