BHS PARENTS FILE LAWSUIT OVER BASEBALL SUSPENSION

A Barrington High School varsity baseball player's parents are suing School
District 220 for his reinstatement to the baseball team after a marijuana
possession arrest resulted in his unfair suspension, the lawsuit states.

Bruce and Margaret Stopka of Barrington filed the lawsuit April 26 in the
Cook County Circuit Court, arguing school district officials violated their
16-year-old son's rights in suspending him without a fair hearing or proof
of wrongdoing.

"The facts of the Complaint will demonstrate that the plaintiff denies the
offense and denies that he violated the Co Curricular Code," the lawsuit
stated. It also said the complaint will show how the code and appeal
process are a violation of the student's rights.

School District 220's code provides for suspension from the team for the
rest of the season and 40 hours of community service for athletes who
violate the code during the season. For offenses in the off-season,
athletes are required to perform 35 hours of community service.

District 220's Co-Curricular Code states "no student who is a member of any
co-curricular activity shall be in possession of or under the influence of
alcohol, illegal drugs or tobacco."

A District 220 official declined to comment on the lawsuit and suspension.
"Anything regarding students we don't discuss," spokeswoman Debbie Villers
said. Calls to the Stopkas' home and their Northbrook-based attorney,
Steven Glink, were not returned.

The lawsuit states the suspension came after Barrington-Inverness police
arrested Stopkas' son and three other teenagers on April 14 in the Baker's
Lake savanna just southwest of Route 14 and Hillside Avenue. Police reports
confirm the arrests.

The lawsuit states their son was there at about 5:05 p.m. April 14 with 10
other boys. Police officers questioned him about a capsule allegedly
containing marijuana that an officer noticed on the ground near him and
three other boys.

Stopkas' son and three other boys were searched. The lawsuit claims
marijuana was found on the three other boys, but nothing was found on their
son. The police report stated Stopkas' son admitted to owning the container.

Among the court filings is a statement from Stopkas' son who states the
group was playing Hacky Sack in the woods when they found the capsule. He
said he looked at it and showed it to his friends before throwing it back
on the ground.

"After they finished searching us, we began walking out when one of the
officers spotted the medical capsule on the ground," he wrote. "They asked
(whose) it was. When no one responded, they said they would arrest all 11
of us on state charges if no one claimed it. It was not mine, but since I
had picked it up off the ground I said I had had it, fearing state charges
to everyone."

State law requires police to inform local schools about students'
violations. On learning the baseball player had been charged by the police
with possession of marijuana, Barrington High School administrators
immediately suspended him from the varsity team for the rest of the 2006
season, according to the lawsuit.

After his arrest on April 14, the Stopkas' took their son to Advocate Good
Shepherd Hospital for drug screening that came up negative, according to
the lawsuit.

The Stopkas' appealed the suspension on April 19 to Paul Gillette,
Barrington High School's associate principal of student activities,
according to the lawsuit. He denied the appeal, explaining, for example,
the police's issuance of a ticket alone was enough to warrant the
suspension under the school code.

Gillette declined to comment.

In a second appeal, Alena Laube, assistant superintendent of research and
development, and Donn Mendoza, principal of Barrington Middle
School-Station Campus, also upheld the suspension.

In a letter sent to the Stopkas on April 25, included in the court filings,
Laube wrote, "Our reason for this decision is based on the clear language
of the Code, which prohibits students from possessing illegal drugs such as
marijuana. (Your son) admitted that he was in possession of marijuana to
the officer who issued the ticket. We believe this admission constitutes
possession under the Code.

"We understand you believe the tactics in questioning (your son) were
inappropriate. We also appreciate the fact that you immediately took (your
son) for drug testing, and that the results were negative. However, we do
not believe either of these two facts exempt (your son) from serving the
consequences set forth by the Code."

Barrington-Inverness Police Chief Jeff Lawler declined to comment on the
merits of the Stopkas' lawsuit, but said possession of marijuana is a
criminal charge. The issuance of a ticket expedites the processing of those
charged and puts police back out on their beats faster, he explained.

"It's a criminal charge we write under a local ordinance," Lawler said.

The 16-year-old's court date on the misdemeanor charge of marijuana
possession is May 15.

A court hearing on the lawsuit has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday in
Room 2402 of the Rolling Meadows Courthouse.