FOOTHILL STUDENTS CAN STAY

EDUCATION:'ZERO tolerance' policy aside,teens won't be transferred to
Tustin High.

TUSTIN-Nine Foothill High School student leaders accused of consuming
alcohol at a leadership camp last month will not be transferred to
another school under the district's "zero tolerance" policy.

After meeting with the students, their families and attorneys for more
than 12 hours Wednesday, and part of Friday, the Tustin School Board
reversed the district's decision to transfer the students to Tustin
High, according to two parents and their attorney.

Director of Student Services Alex McConahay called the students and
their lawyers to let them know they wouldn't be transferred. But the
board does plan to put some restrictions on the students.

the parents won't get further details until possibly Monday, said
Ernie Ching, lawyer for six of the students.

The board is still deciding on the restrictions, he
said.

One student, Associated Student Body President Jim Weir, was
exonerated, Ching said.

"(The board) has been as fair as we could hope for," said Jim Weir's
father, Tom Weir. "So I feel they spent the time to do what was right."

Tustin Unified spokesman Mark Eliot said he couldn't comment because
of student privacy concerns.

On Aug. 26, the nine students - eight seniors and one junior -
allegedly were caught or confessed to drinking at the Orange County
Leadership Council Camp at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"I guess the good news is (school board members) had some light of
realism in their thinking," said parent Patti Clark, whose son is
among the nine.