Student's Effort to Do the "Right Thing" Backfires
By Barbara Byrne World Staff Writer

MANNFORD John Wiley thought he was doing the right thing when he turned in
a bag of marijuana to school officials. Instead, the Mannford Middle School
eighthgrader ended up being suspended Dec. 2 for six months for possessing
an illegal substance on school property.

"He did the right thing and now he's being punished for doing the right
thing," said John's mother, Lenora Wiley. "He's just not being treated
right."

The Wileys have filed a letter appealing the suspension, and the appeal will
be heard by the Mannford Board of Education on Thursday. "I believe my son,"
Lenora Wiley said Monday. "It seems to me that with John not ever being
involved in any activity like that (drugs), I would think they would take
that into consideration and the fact that he turned it in."

Mannford Middle School principal Molly Gregory said she would rather not
comment until the appeals meeting.

Mannford Superintendent of Schools Tom Stiles said of the suspension, "That
is a confidential matter pertaining to a student. We cannot comment about
that situation." John, 14, wrote in a police statement that he took the bag
of marijuana from other students "so I could take it to the office." He said
he was offered the bag before his first class, and told his first hour
teacher that he needed to go talk to the principal. After John completed
some class work, his teacher excused him to go to the school office, he
said.

Mannford Middle School Assistant Principal Garry Pasby wrote in a student
incident report that John gave the bag of marijuana to Pasby and Gregory in
the assistant principal's office that morning. School officials later turned
the drugs over to police.

Pasby wrote that he checked with the students John had named and asked them
if they had given John the bag of marijuana. Pasby wrote, "I checked with
the two students and they did not have the drugs or give them to John."

John said that after he gave the school officials the bag, he was sent back
to class. A few minutes later, John was called back into the school office
where Gregory told him he was suspended and a police officer was on the way
to take John in for questioning.

Wiley's mother met him at the Mannford Police Station, where they discussed
the situation with police. "I honestly thought I could get him back into
school after (school officials) saw the facts on the (police) report . . .
that they would give him the benefit of the doubt,'' Lenora Wiley said.

Instead, Lenora Wiley said school officials told her their hands were tied.
She said they cited the school's drug policy that relates even to first time
offenders. The policy states in part, "A student may not sell, possess or
use a narcotic or dangerous drug, including but not limited to marijuana,
LSD, PCP, barbiturates, heroin . . . If a student breaks the above rules,
he/she may be suspended for the rest of the semester and the following
semester of school." It goes on to say, "It is time to quit tolerating drugs
and alcohol and we will be making the statement that it must stop if we do
not allow students to be here who have decided upon this kind of lifestyle."
John said there was about a dime sized amount of marijuana in the bag.
Police reports note that there was marijuana in the bag, and states the
drugs were confiscated by the department.

John said another student gave him the drugs in a school bathroom just
before the first class of the day as some other students watched. John said
he couldn't understand why the school office sent a police officer to pick
him up.

"I was mad," he said.

He said he knew the students who gave him the marijuana because he talked to
them sometimes and had a locker close to theirs.

Lenora Wiley admits that her son has had problems with getting into fights
and controlling his temper. That's why she told him to go to the principal
when something went wrong, rather than fight or do what he knew was wrong.
She said his behavior has improved.

"The school will be the first to tell you that he's not a troublemaker,"
Lenora Wiley said.

Copyright 1996, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.