SCHOOL DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY SLAMMED BY PARENTS

Moms and Dads Says Policy Focuses on Punishment Rather Than Proactive
Approach to Dealing With Issues

A parent's group is slamming a policy developed to address drug and alcohol
issues in schools in the Kootenay Lake School District.

"DPAC believes the policy is more towards discipline rather than
education," says Victoria Vaseleniuck who sits on the school board policy
committee as a District Parents Advisory Council representative.

At present, the district policy committee is field-testing the
controversial Drug and Alcohol Policy that has been more than a year in the
making. Subsequently, DPAC is asking that parents and members of the public
respond to the policy by providing their thoughts on the issue.

"I would like the general public, the whole community and not just those
within the school system, to provide feedback," explains Vaseleniuck.

"There isn't one that's specific to drugs and alcohol. This one is but it
seems that we want a preventative approach as opposed to a discipline
approach that says for example, if you have zero tolerance then that means
you can't ever drink, you can't ever smoke."

But according to district superintendent Brian Butcher, the only negative
feedback they have received regarding the draft policy is from DPAC.

Today, the policy committee will meet to look at responding to DPAC's
concerns and they'll rework some parts of the policy if necessary. After
that it may go through another cycle of feedback from the public, Butcher said.

The purpose of the policy is to bring some consistency when dealing with
drug and alcohol issues district-wide.

"It's important that if you use drugs in one school that there should be a
uniform consequence for every school," Butcher said. "You shouldn't have
one school saying you're out for one day and another school saying you're
out for five days or one saying you're not out at all."

Lenora Trenaman, president of the Kootenay Lake DPAC, said she thinks the
new policy being drafted is redundant and is covered under another policy.

"We have a student conduct and discipline policy so why do we need another
policy," Trenaman told the Daily News. "But the biggest concern is that we
would like to see a proactive approach, a preventative approach to
addressing drug and alcohol concerns as opposed to the punitive one.

Butcher said students aren't suspended for first time offenses. In fact,
for the first time a student is caught under the influence of drugs in
school they will meet with the principal, their parents or guardians. The
group would then set up a plan to determine how they will deal with the
situation.

For the second offense, again they meet with the principal and parents or
guardians and put the plan they devised in place. It doesn't necessarily
mean that the student would have to go to drug and alcohol
counselling. But it is something that the parents and the school can both
agree to.

"But if the student is trafficking that's completely different," Butcher
said. "Then the student is sent home, suspended and sent to the discipline
committee.

Butcher said it's important that schools address drug and alcohol issues
and take them seriously.

"I really believe that kids who have a drug and alcohol problem really do
need help," he said.

To view or comment on the draft policy, please see the Kootenay Lake School
District website.