2 WAUKESHA COUNTY DISTRICTS SHOW BIG DROP IN EXPULSIONS

Expulsions from Waukesha County's two largest school districts
decreased dramatically in the just-completed school year, officials
said Monday.

While officials in the Waukesha and Elmbrook school districts had
trouble identifying the cause of the big drop, one theorized that
heightened awareness from last year's expulsions may have served as a
deterrent to drug or weapons offenses by students in the district this
year.

The number of students expelled from the Waukesha School District fell
from 35 in the 1996-'97 school year to only 17 in the year ending last
week.

The Elmbrook School District, which kicked out a record 9 students
last year, expelled only 3 in 1997-'98, all for marijuana possession.

The Waukesha district has about 13,200 students, and Elmbrook has
about 7,000.

Although officials in both Waukesha and Elmbrook were reluctant to
offer a precise cause for the large decrease in expulsions, both noted
that they have zero-tolerance policies toward illegal drugs.

"Here, there's no second and third chances," said Gilbert Wilkins,
executive director of administrative services for the Waukesha School
District. "If you bring a marijuana pipe that has marijuana in it, or
marijuana in a Baggie or whatever, you're expelled."

Elmbrook Superintendent Matthew Gibson said the number of expulsions
related to drugs or weapons last year may have made students think
twice this year.

Neither district had an expulsion related to a weapons offense this
school year.

Checked-by: (trikydik)