DRUG-SNIFFING DOG IN STORE FOR FALLBROOK HIGH SCHOOL

Officials Say Narcotics Canine Is A Preventive Measure

FALLBROOK ---- Educators voted unanimously to clear the way for
canine drug searches at Fallbrook High School on Monday night, a move
that officials said was sorely needed at a campus where drug use is
common and may be on the rise.

The decision will most likely take effect by the end of the school
year next month, and will provide for a sheriff's canine and his
handler to search lockers, cars and classrooms at the campus, while
forbidding the search of individual students.

Assistant Principal John Hayek said during Monday night's meeting
that drugs are a persistent problem at the Stage Coach Lane campus.

"A young lady will come up and say, 'Mr. Hayek, you'd better go check
that bathroom,' ... because she's just come out of a bathroom that
smells like marijuana," Hayek said.

He added after the meeting: "The students who are here to get an
education shouldn't be subjected to that."

Hayek said the periodic searches will enable campus leaders to
discourage drug use in what he described as a preventive measure.

"We don't want to find anything," he said. "It's not, 'Let's catch
the kids off guard and punish them.' "

On the other hand, he said: "If we were to sit and stake out, we
could catch somebody every day."

Hayek said he did not know whether drug use on campus is increasing,
but the tone of Monday night's discussion ---- as well as the
perceived necessity of a drug-sniffing dog ---- seemed to indicate that it is.

Technically, the board voted to amend its "search and seizure" policy
to include a provision for canine narcotics searches. In practice, it
will allow for a sheriff's deputy and a canine companion to search
for illegal substances.

Currently, offending students are busted for drug activity after
other children tip off campus authorities, or during "random bathroom
searches," said Hayek.

Officials said the details of how the canine searches will be
conducted still have to be finalized but cited a few examples of how
they could play out.

For example, Fallbrook Union High School District Superintendent Bob
French said, the dog could be walked down a row of lockers and
allowed to sniff for drugs stashed by a student.

In another scenario, students could be asked to leave their backpacks
in the classroom and wait in the hallway while the canine sniffs the room.

Under no circumstances would a student be sniffed by the dog, French said.

"Legally, we cannot have a dog search a person," he said.

French, who has been at the helm of the school district for four
months, said he did not have a sense of whether drug activity
increased. Both he and Hayek deferred the question to Fallbrook High
School Principal Rod King, who did not attend Monday night's board meeting.

Still, said French, "If there are any (drugs) there, I think it's a big deal."

San Diego Sheriff's deputy Pete Alvarado said he is prepared to
search classrooms and vehicles with his canine partner, a German
Shepherd named Quandro, but would prefer if there were no students
around when he did.

"My priority is the legality of it," he said. "We need to do this in
a legal manner."

Alvarado said Quandro is trained to smell seven types of drugs,
including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Which of
those drugs have been found at Fallbrook High School was unclear.

"He's a good dog," said Alvarado. "If it's here, he'll find it."

Board member Bill O'Connor praised the idea before the board voted
its approval.

"This is a good step," said O'Connor. "We're here for the safety of
our students."

Another member, Lynn Colburn, said that he once witnessed a classroom
drug search performed by a police canine at Orange Glen High School.

"The students really took it in stride," said Colburn. "They
automatically left their backpacks and left the room."

Colburn said parents often ask him what the school district is "doing
about the drug problem," and pointed out that the board has to decide
on the fate of campus drug offenders every month when it votes on
student expulsions during its board meetings.

"I think we, as a board, have a tremendous responsibility to provide
a safe environment," he said. "We have to admit that (narcotics are)
here, and we have to do something. We have to take strong action."