ELITE SCHOOL TURNS UP DRUGS

A Search at Moorestown High Found "Significant" Amounts of Cocaine,
Amphetamines and Other Drugs, Officials Say.

A search at one of the most elite public high schools in the region
turned up "significant" amounts of cocaine, amphetamines, diet
pills, marijuana, prescription drugs, and drug paraphernalia, school
authorities said last night.

The drugs were found at Moorestown High - a school flush with
Advanced Placement courses, where 94 percent of students go on to
college and where most participate in extracurricular activities.

After an investigation by school officials, six students were
questioned by authorities Wednesday, searched, and given drug tests
and arrested, interim district Superintendent Timothy Brennan said.

More information, including details of the search, was not
immediately available from Moorestown police.

The students' names were not released. Officials said they come from
a range of grades at the school.

Brennan declined to say what caused school officials to become
suspicious of the students, saying it could jeopardize the
investigation. But he did say Moorestown has a serious, potentially
wide-ranging matter on its hands.

"I sense that the results of the high school administration's
investigation are an indication of a larger problem," Brennan said.

The mood in Moorestown High, which has about 1,300 students, was
edgy, Brennan said.

"There's been more of a sense of unrest at the high school," he
said. "Some of the students are upset and surprised that this
happened at their school. Some are wondering what the future holds."

Next week, Brennan said, he plans to speak to each class at the
middle and high school level to tell them of ramped-up drug- and
alcohol-enforcement policies. He will answer questions and encourage
anyone with a substance-abuse problem to notify a trusted teacher or
counselor.

In a letter sent home to parents and other members of the school
community, Brennan used strong language - phrases like "zero
tolerance," and "expulsion" - to warn of tough consequences for
those found to be distributing drugs.

He also indicated that even things as simple as a box of cold
medicine will be scrutinized: Any student required to have
prescription or over-the-counter medicine must alert the school
nurse, Brennan said.

"If a student is in possession of a bag, bottle, box, etc. without
having notified the school nurse and it contains such substances,
that student has violated Board policy and is also in trouble," Brennan wrote.

He would not comment on whether the school would notify colleges any
involved seniors had applied to of their infractions.

The school board's policy says that if a student is found to be in
possession or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he or she
must serve a 10-day suspension, which can be reduced to five days if
he or she agrees to a year's intervention including random drug
tests and meetings with a counselor, among other measures.

Tracy Bartlett, a mother of high school children and president of
the Moorestown High Home and School Association, said the community
was reeling from the news.

"I know that all the parents are totally shocked and saddened by the
kids making wrong decisions and bad decisions," Bartlett said.

She did not elaborate.

While Moorestown is best known for its sterling academics and fine
athletics, three years ago it made national headlines for another scandal.

Then-senior Blair Hornstine sued the school district to be named
sole valedictorian. She ultimately won her suit, but news that she
plagiarized newspaper articles caused Harvard University to rescind
its offer of admission.

But Brennan, who has been acting schools chief for four months, said
that despite the current cloud, he is still proud to be associated
with Moorestown.

"I've been so impressed by what a fine school district it is," he
said. "It's not that we don't have problems, but we're defined by
how we handle the problems: collaboratively, standing by the
children, protecting the children."

To read the letter from interim Superintendent Timothy Brennan go to
http://go.philly.com/drugletter