STUDENT MAY LOSE LEADERSHIP OVER DRUG

The Supreme Court May Hear The Case Of A Student Council President Removed
For Marijuana Possession

ASHLAND -- A high school student council president removed from office last
year for possessing marijuana, who was later reinstated by a judge, could
lose his position a second time unless the Oregon Supreme Court overturns
an appeals court ruling.

The family of 17-year-old Keanon Ferguson has asked the state's highest
court to review a February ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals. The lower
court gave the school district the authority to remove elected student
officials from their positions, even if such action is not listed as a
possible punishment under district guidelines.

Ferguson was caught on the Phoenix High School campus with less than an
ounce of marijuana, just days before the end of the 1999-2000 school year.
He was suspended from school for five days and, as a first-time offender,
was required to attend drug counseling classes and to submit to random drug
tests.

During a second election last fall, Ferguson's classmates re-elected him by
a 2-to-1 ratio.

The appellate ruling overturned the lower court's ruling and gave the
school district authority to strip Ferguson of his title. He will remain
student body president until the Supreme Court acts on the matter. If the
high court decides not to hear the case, school district officials will
remove Ferguson from office a second time, Superintendent David Willard said.

"As always, our goal is to educate our young people, and I certainly hope
that this is the case now," Willard said in a written statement. "The
decision to remove him last August was the right thing to do. His choices
were unacceptable, and the natural consequence was to lose the position to
which he had been entrusted. The passage of time and the circumstances we
now find ourselves in do not change the original decision.

"Our hope is that this student, and all the others who will follow him,
understand that being a leader brings with it increased responsibilities."

Keanon's father, Bill Ferguson, who is a lawyer, said he was not surprised
by Willard's statement.

"This has been so hard on Keanon," the father said. "I sort of equate it to
Chinese water torture. If it wasn't for the student support, and if he were
not such a strong kid, it would be devastating what the district has done
to him."

If Ferguson is removed, Phoenix High vice president Kasey Stierle will be
the new president, Willard said.