10-YEAR-OLD BOY ACCUSED OF HAVING MARIJUANA AT WAUKESHA SCHOOL

He's first elementary pupil in district to be caught with drugs, officials say

Waukesha -- A 10-year-old student is accused of having marijuana and more
than $100 in cash at school in what officials said is the first case of a
student being caught with drugs at a Waukesha public elementary school.

The boy faces an expulsion hearing before the School Board on Tuesday
night, a school official said. School officials found the drugs and cash on
him Sept. 23.

After school officials said they found the marijuana, a rolling paper and
cash in the boy's pants, he told them everything -- including the pants --
belonged to an older brother, who is in high school.

"The kid has a story to tell. The story, unfortunately, has changed," said
Gilbert Wilkins, the executive director of administrative services for the
Waukesha School District.

The fifth-grader at Prairie Elementary School is believed to be the
youngest pupil in Waukesha County to be accused of having marijuana on
school grounds.

"This would be the youngest that I know of," said District Attorney Paul
Bucher, who is deeply involved in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program in the schools.

The student was turned in by fellow students who told administrators they
saw him handling the marijuana on the playground.

The boy was searched and officials found a small amount of marijuana, a
single rolling paper and "a large amount of money," Wilkins said.

Wilkins said the cash was "over $100 but less than $200." He refused to say
exactly how much money the child had.

Bucher said, "Even if I wasn't involved in DARE, I'd be concerned about a
10-year-old allegedly possessing marijuana and having $100 to $200 in cash.
Any right-thinking individual would be concerned. Nobody in my office
carries that amount of cash in their pockets."

Wilkins said there was no evidence the 10-year-old was selling marijuana to
other students.

"He's not a person suspected of being a drug dealer or a gang-banger,"
Wilkins said. "He's a good kid from a good family. . . . He's 10. That's
the really sad part about it.

"We'll have to deal with it and get on with life."

Superintendent David Schmidt said even if the marijuana belonged to the
boy's brother, the fifth-grader was aware of school rules that prohibit
drugs.

"Our policy is to take kids to expulsion when drugs and alcohol are
involved," Schmidt said. "He knew the rules. School districts have to draw
the line somewhere.

"I've watched this whole drug and alcohol thing, and it starts getting
younger and younger, and that concerns me deeply."

Asked what the normal penalty for being caught with marijuana was, Wilkins
replied: "There is no normal in this situation. We've not had an elementary
school child with possession of marijuana before."

If the child is expelled, he would be the fifth student expelled for
possession of marijuana or drug paraphernalia this school year. The other
four, all high school students, were expelled for the rest of the semester.

Said School Board member Kathleen Briggs: "I've been a board member for
eight years, and I don't recall any drug incidents with an elementary
school kid.

"To think that's (marijuana) filtering down to elementary schools, that's
pretty scary."

Waukesha police Lt. Hal Kump said the case remains under investigation.

"Of course it's concerning," Kump said. "It's concerning when it's a
16-year-old. It's concerning when it's a 35-year-old. It indicates how the
younger people are being exposed to controlled substances. It's very
disturbing."

It's not the first time in the Milwaukee area that a fifth-grader has been
caught with marijuana.

In May 1997, an 11-year-old Milwaukee Public Schools fifth-grader was
turned in to police by his parents who suspected he was selling drugs.
Police searched the youth and found 30 grams of marijuana and a pager.

While the officers were holding the pager, it beeped and displayed a
number. Police dialed the number, and a man answered and said he wanted to
buy marijuana from the boy.

Linda Spice of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson