DRUG/ALCOHOL OFFENCES TOP REASONS FOR SCHOOL SUSPENSION

There were 671 suspensions handed out to students in the
Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district for the first seven months of the
school year, with 139 due to drug and/or alcohol offences in the
district's high schools.

The other major offences causing suspensions from September until the
end of March include fighting (117), defiance (51), assault (45) and
theft (22).

Other less-common offences include throwing snowballs, vandalism and
smoking on school property, according to a district report.

The months of October and November show a spike in suspensions,
totaling 231 incidents.

While the numbers seem high, the number of suspensions in the district
have been decreasing each year since 1995-96, when 1,304 suspensions
were recorded for the whole year.

Superintendent Mike Munro attributed the decreasing number to several
factors, including the fact that there are fewer secondary students in
the district due to declining enrolment.

Munro also said the district's changing strategies over the years to
deal with students who are guilty of offences that would lead to
suspensions are paying off.

"We've been working with a number of agencies in the community,
including the Vancouver Island Health Authority, to help us deal with
students with mental health issues and with issues around drugs and
alcohol," Munro said.

"We've been looking at other approaches through programs and other
initiatives to deal with students instead of just handing out
suspensions.

"We've been finding they have a better chance of altering students'
behaviour for the better in a lot of cases."

Munro said district officials had noted the spike in suspensions in
October and November, with a high percentage of them related to drugs
and alcohol offences, but can't offer any one definitive reason for
the anomaly.

"It's not uncommon for students to test their limits and experiment at
the beginning of the school year and before breaks, but we don't know
if that's the case here," he said.

Students caught with drugs and alcohol on school property can be
suspended for three to 10 days for a first offence, along with the
possibility that the students and their families be referred to local
social agencies for assistance.

After three drug/alcohol offences within an 18-month period, students
can be suspended for up to 20 days.