WORRIES ARISE OVER DRUG USE BY NHS STUDENTS

NEWBURYPORT -- Though a two-month undercover investigation failed to find
any evidence of drug use or drug dealing at the high school, officials are
still concerned that students are smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol
during school hours.

The investigation found students often leave school grounds during the
day, leading to worries that some are leaving to use drugs. "There
were some observations of students leaving school grounds, possibly
for those reasons," said Superintendent of Schools Mary Murray.
"That's something we will be looking at."

The investigation began in November with help from the Police
Department. Murray said the probe was requested after the
administration had fielded several complaints from students, parents
and teachers about drug use at the school. The investigation,
conducted by an undercover agent placed in the school for two months,
failed to find any conclusive evidence of drugs on the school grounds,
according to a joint statement issued by school officials, the Police
Department and Mayor Mary Anne Clancy.

However, the results of the probe were "troubling" and confirmed some
of the suspicions of school officials, the statement said.

Murray would not say how the undercover agent who conducted the
investigation was placed in the school, or whether the agent was
posing as a student or as a teacher. Murray added she wasn't surprised
by the investigator's findings, citing what was already learned from
the Youth Risk Behavior survey conducted last spring. In the survey,
given to students in grades 7 and 9-12 every other year, 81 percent of
high school students said they have had at least one drink of alcohol
in their lives.

The results of the survey -- indicating that many students are
drinking, smoking marijuana and taking prescription pills -- were
similar to what school officials see statewide. Murray said the issues
of minors drinking alcohol and using drugs is the same nationwide.

Murray said the problems cannot be addressed only at school, but she
wants to make sure the School Department's policy of having "zero
tolerance" for drug and alcohol use is enforced. To do so, school
officials plan on continuing to work with police to stop any drug or
alcohol use at school, Murray said. The School Committee was informed
of the issues uncovered by the investigation last week. School
Committee member Bruce Menin said the probe, and its implications,
didn't come up for discussion at last night's meeting. Menin said he
wasn't aware of the investigation while it was underway. "These kinds
of investigations are taking place all the time," he said. "It's
something that we're concerned about as a community, not just in the
schools." Murray said the finding of students leaving school grounds,
possibly for drugs or alcohol, is of particular concern. School
leaders want to discuss solutions to those problems, she said.

For example, Murray said, with 17 exits at the high school, students
can easily slip out of the building unnoticed. Due to fire safety
regulations, those exits cannot be locked from the inside. And school
personnel are too few to monitor all exits throughout the school day.

But some exits are under video surveillance. Murray said, and one of
the solutions that may be discussed is to put cameras on all 17 exits.
"We have a number of different ideas in mind," Murray said.