DRUG, ALCOHOL EXPULSIONS SOARING AT UNION HIGH

So many students have been expelled in drug and alcohol incidents at Union
High School this school year that administrators are calling a special
meeting to urge parents and students to take the problem seriously.

"We have a problem that presents as much or more danger than the school
violence issues which disrupted our school last spring," District
Administrator Richard Zimmerman wrote in a letter to parents mailed Friday.
Zimmerman said that 10 students have been removed from the district this
school year for drug and alcohol incidents, double the number of expulsions
for any reason in some school years.

"We've never had so many expulsions in such a short period," Zimmerman said.

The district is holding the meeting Nov. 17 to talk to parents and students
about the incidents and to educate them about what is going on around the
area.

The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. in the North Cafe at the high school.

One policy that will be explained is zero-tolerance for drugs and alcohol
on school grounds, in place since 1988.

It works like this: Get caught with drugs or alcohol at Hartford Union and
you're looking for a new school.

The expulsions this school year have defied classification.

"They have not been related to grade-point average," Zimmerman said. "It's
been true of at-risk, true of athletes and academics, honor students. The
evidence is that is not contained in any group."

The meeting will feature presentations by school officials and law
enforcement officials. Topics will include information on the severity of
the problem, consequences at school and with the law, and parental awareness.

"We, like other high schools, are concerned about the availability of drugs
and alcohol and the usage of those by our students," Zimmerman's letter
says. "It is becoming more widespread."

Lt. John Buck, who heads the Washington County Multi-Jurisdiction Drug
Enforcement group, said that without a doubt there are drugs in high
schools. As for Hartford's sudden surge in expulsions, Buck said there
could be any number of reasons.

"Maybe there is more use, maybe there is a new group of kids using or maybe
it is a greater awareness, and the district is picking up on the clues," he
said.

Marijuana is always around, Buck said, but 1999 has been a bumper year. To
date, the group has confiscated 39 pounds of marijuana, more than was taken
in the previous two years.

"And if we are seeing an increase countywide, you can bet there's an
increase in the high schools," he said.

In 1998, 42% of the group's arrests for marijuana possession were of people
between the ages of 17 and 20, Buck said.

Slinger and West Bend East have not had a drug-or alcohol-related expulsion
this year. West Bend West had one expulsion, but it was not for drugs or
alcohol, according to district officials.

Mary Skalecki, East's principal, said she and her counterpart at West High
School had not seen an increase in drug activity at the campus. On Friday,
a drug sweep was conducted at East with the help of the West Bend Police
Department canine unit.

"We had one hit on a locker, and that turned up nothing," Skalecki said.