POSSIBLE POT AT SCHOOL STIRS CONCERN

A 13-year-old at Goodyear's Eliseo C. Felix Elementary School is
suspected of having brought a trace amount of marijuana to school,
Goodyear police reported.

The amount was so small that officers declined to press charges, said
Sgt. Scott Benson, who supervises the Goodyear Police Department's
school resource officers.

The student brought a substance to school Tuesday morning and was
showing other students, Benson said.

After school, news spread to some parents through their children. A
few parents attended the Avondale Elementary School District's board
meeting Tuesday evening, expressing concern that the student was not
adequately punished and wondering why police weren't involved.

"Because there wasn't an arrest made, they maybe assumed the school
didn't involve us," Benson said.

The amount was so small that it was impossible to determine exactly
what it was, Benson said, although the seventh-grader told his peers
it was marijuana.

"For all we know, it could have been tobacco flakes," he said, adding
that the substance had no odor.

Superintendent Cathy Stafford could not comment because it was a
"confidential student discipline issue," but she did say authorities
are contacted with "any concerns we have on our campuses that involve
an illegal substance."

The school has taken disciplinary action against the student, Benson said.

In addition, a police officer sat down with the student and told
informing him of the severity of his action, Benson said.

"The juvenile was just trying to be kind of cool and impress kids,
and it ended up backfiring," he said.