DOGS SNIFF OUT POT IN WHS TEACHER'S CAR

Drug-sniffing dogs searching the Westlake High School campus for
illegal narcotics earlier this month caught a scent.

It led them to a teacher's car.

On Dec. 8, Thousand Oaks police issued a citation to Courtney
Stockton, a 35-year-old special education teacher, for having less
than one ounce of marijuana on school grounds after they found the
controlled substance in his vehicle in the staff parking lot, said
Capt. Bill Ayub.

Ayub said the amount of marijuana found in Stockton's car is
considered small and for personal use.

"(There's) no indication this guy was selling or providing drugs to
kids," Ayub said.

The marijuana was discovered by employees of a private company hired
by the school district to periodically search the campus for drugs,
the captain said.

The workers had finished their rounds at about 2 p.m. on a Thursday
and were returning to their vehicles when one of the dogs indicated
drugs were in Stockton's vehicle, according to police.

If convicted of the misdemeanor of possessing marijuana on a school
campus during school hours, Stockton could spend up to 10 days in
jail, pay a $500 fine or both.

Regardless of what happens with the courts, Superintendent Jeff
Baarstad said the school district is already taking action. He said
Stockton has been suspended for the first week of school after winter
break and could face additional punishment.

"We're extremely disappointed," the superintendent said. "We have
2,000 employees who set a good example for kids every day, and this
certainly doesn't reflect that, and we don't want it to reflect
negatively on those people who do the right thing every day."

Baarstad wouldn't comment specifically on Stockton but said that
possession of alcohol or drugs on campus violates the federal
alcohol-, tobacco- and drug-free workplace act and several school
district policies.

He said that in general a second violation of this nature could result
in a teacher's termination.

Baarstad said the drug-sniffing dogs are used regularly at the
district's three high schools.

"It's a pretty effective deterrent because they're pretty accurate,"
Baarstad said of the dogs. "They walk the lockers, they walk the
student parking lot. . . . They're not for the purpose of scanning
teachers' cars, but in this case their vehicle was parked in the staff
parking lot."

School officials had little or nothing to say about Stockton, his
position at the school or the incident. Principal Ron Lipari referred
all questions to Tim Carpenter, the Conejo Valley Unified School
District's assistant superintendent of personnel, who declined to
answer any questions about Stockton.

A school newsletter indicates Stockton was chair of Westlake High's
special education department in 2009-10. It's unclear if he still
holds that position. Stockton is on the executive board for the
Unified Association of Conejo Teachers, the local teachers union.

After police discovered the marijuana, Stockton was called into
Lipari's office and the school's resource officer, a Thousand Oaks
police officer, issued him the citation, Ayub said.

Baarstad said this is the first time in his nine years with CVUSD that
he's aware of a district teacher being cited for marijuana possession
on school grounds.

"If a kid is caught with drugs in his possession, boom, you're
suspended," he said. "With an employee, we had to do some due
diligence before we could make (the decision to suspend him)."

The police department held seminars earlier this year for parents and
children at area high schools, including Westlake High, on how to
combat drug use-particularly the increased use of heroin and abuse of
prescription drugs-in the Conejo Valley.