HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL ENLISTS PARENTS IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

HILLSBOROUGH -- The parents who turned out for a recent "Drug
Awareness Night" at Hillsborough Middle School did not have to be
persuaded of the threat that illegal drugs can pose to their children.

"I think it'll rise anywhere if you don't stay on top if it," said
Andy Christian, who has a daughter in seventh grade and a son in
fifth grade. "The potential is always there. It can happen in a good
or bad community."

Michael Nenlsen, whose son is an eighth-grader, said, "Events like
this educate the community. ... It all comes down to the parents.
They need to take a role in their (children's) lives."

Sam Jackson, said his daughter, Rachel, 15, an eighth-grader, had
told him he didn't have to come if he didn't want to. But Jackson,
who also has children in the 9th and 11th grades at the high school,
said, "It's part of my responsibility as a parent to show up when
they have these events."

The May 18 event, which featured workshops and skits by the middle
school's Student Leadership Corps, an extracurricular school club,
drew about 50 parents.

During one skit on heroin use, Dylan Zebro, 14, a Hillsborough Middle
School eighth-grader, told the parents: "Talk to your children before
they make a mistake that can ruin the rest of their lives."

Rhonda Brown said she maintains "open communication" with her
eighth-grade son and two teenage daughters but because it is
impossible to watch them at all times.

"We have to trust our children and keep our fingers crossed," she said.

Reports of an increase in heroin use by high-school students prompted
selection of heroin as the theme of the event, said Anna Mahler,
student assistance counselor at Hillsborough Middle School.

"We figured it's time," she said.

Heroin use had been referenced by township police Chief Robert K.
Gazaway on May 9 during a discussion by the Township Committee about
funding a second high-school drug and alcohol counselor in the 2006
school budget, after rejection of the budget by voters. The committee
decided to fund the second drug counseling position, at an annual
salary of $62,935.

Gazaway, who is retiring as police chief, told the committee that
drug use was on the rise in Hillsborough.

He cited two incidents in April 2005, both involving Hillsborough
High School students trying to sell small quantities of heroin to
undercover police in the parking lot of an Amwell Road shopping center.

"What scares us is we've seen a lot more heroin," he said. "It's no
worse than another community, but it's a lot bigger than it was a
year or two ago."

Jean Robinson, the high school's student assistance counselor, told
the committee, "We have a considerable amount of students at the high
school that are addicted to drugs."

In response to inquiries from the Courier News, school district and
township officials later said that the township committee was not
provided with any prior year statistics to document the increase and
Somerset County prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest said he was not aware of
such a rise at the high school.

"Not from our level," Forrest said.

"If you're looking for a dramatic increase, you're not going to find
it," said Hillsborough school superintendent Karen Lake.

Kevin Davis, Hillsborough Township's business administrator, said,
"The question isn't the number of kids using drugs. It is how many
can be directed away from drug use. That is a hard number to quantify."

Deputy Mayor Anthony Ferrera said, "The school board impressed upon
us the extreme importance to the high-school students served by this position."

Davis said the numbers provided to the township committee were all
from the current school year and showed the following:

School district officials were able to provide one year-over-year
comparison: 18 high school students tested positive for illegal drugs
in May 2006, compared to eight in April 2005. But it could not be
learned how many students were tested each year.

Students are referred for testing by a staff member if suspected of
being under the influence at that moment at the school or their
parents with consent by both the parent and the student. Under state
law, if a student is suspected of being under the influence, Robinson
said. Staff members refer the student to the vice principal, who then
takes the student to the nurse for an immediate medical evaluation
and the student's parents are called.

Davis noted that $118,000 was spent this year for counseling of
Hillsborough students at outside facilities, such as rehab centers.

"But with an additional counselor, more of those kids may be kept in
school, lessening the increasing cost for outside instruction," he said.

Mahler, the only student assistance counselor at the middle school,
also stressed earlier intervention. "We need to teach them before
they get to the high school."

Gazaway said the point of his comments at the May 9 meeting was, "We
are concerned."

Drug and alcohol abuse in Hillsborough this school year can be found
in all grade levels, ages, races and ethnic groups, he said, adding,
"It's not just the failing students. There's definitely an increase.
Parents need to talk to the kids. We know there's more student use."