POT STING STUDENT TO GRADUATE

He Faces Drug Charges After Text-Messaging

John Huckins, the 17-year-old Concord High School student who was
arrested in March during an alleged drug buy set up by the Bishop
Brady principal, will not be suspended for the rest of the school
year, according to the terms of an agreement detailed yesterday by
Huckins's attorney.

Huckins will be allowed to finish his senior year at Concord High but
will not be allowed to attend his senior prom, class day or
graduation ceremony, said his attorney, Mark Howard. In exchange,
Huckins will drop the lawsuit he filed against the school district
alleging district officials violated their own rules regarding
suspension procedures, Howard said.

The two sides reached the deal this week. School district attorney
John Teague said yesterday that privacy laws prohibited him from
commenting on the specifics, but he called the deal a "satisfactory
resolution."

Huckins thought he was text-messaging a friend at Bishop Brady High
School on March 6 when he went there for a drug sale, according to
court records. It turned out he was communicating with Brady
Principal Jean Barker.

Barker had confiscated the cell phone of Huckins's friend and used it
to lure Huckins to the school, records said. The conversation started
when Huckins text-messaged his friend's phone and asked, "Yo, need a
bag?" Barker suspected he was referring to marijuana and answered
back, "Yea I can wait at the back door."

Barker called the Concord police once she'd set up the drug sale,
records said. When Huckins arrived near Brady about 2:30 p.m., the
police arrested him. He is charged with possession of a controlled
drug with intent to distribute. The police report said he had 1
ounce of marijuana on him, but Howard said yesterday that Huckins was
charged with possession of a quarter ounce.

The day after his arrest, Concord High suspended Huckins for 10 days
because of the charge. Huckins did not challenge the suspension. On
March 26, when he returned to school, the superintendent's office
told him he was suspended again, this time for the rest of the year.

Howard challenged the second suspension in court, arguing that the
school district didn't follow its own rules regarding long-term
suspensions. Specifically, Howard said, the district didn't notify
Huckins in writing of the charges against him or tell him he could
have a lawyer at his suspension hearing.

School officials acknowledged last month that they violated their own
rules, court records show, and moved to reschedule Huckins's second
suspension hearing. Howard objected and asked a Merrimack County
Superior Court judge to intervene.

Judge Philip Mangones ruled that district officials deserved another
chance to debate Huckins's second suspension. Huckins, Howard and
school officials met Monday to discuss the possible suspension. They
worked out a compromise that allows Huckins to stay in school.

Huckins's good behavior played a role in the decision, Howard said.
He'd been back in school since early April, while the court case
regarding his suspension was pending.

"He's done extremely well," Howard said. "He's been unassuming and
deferential toward the administration. He handled himself maturely
coming back, and they handled it professionally."

Howard did not go into detail about the negotiations between the two
sides. In all, Howard said, Huckins was suspended for 23 days - 10
days originally and 13 days before Howard filed the lawsuit
challenging the second suspension.

What's most important for Huckins now, Howard said, is that he'll be
able to finish his senior year, albeit without the traditional rites
of passage. He won't have a long-term suspension on his high school
transcript, and he'll be able to earn a diploma and attend college.
Huckins, whom Howard described as a "decent student" with high marks
in art and music, plans to attend the Maine College of Art in Portland.

But first, he'll have to deal with his pending criminal charge. A
probable cause hearing is scheduled for this morning in Concord
District Court.