TRUSTEE WANTS GAP CLOSED

Central Okanagan school trustee Gail Scanlan wants the school district to
look beyond its borders at what other districts are doing in the area of
drug prevention and awareness.

"I would like to see us look at what other districts are doing, their
effectiveness and what the costs are," said Scanlan.

At Wednesday's school board meeting, trustees received a report outlining
what resources are put toward drug awareness and prevention for the 23,000
students in the Central Okanagan.

Scanlan made the request for the report after attending the Mayor's Forum
on Community Safety and Harm Reduction, where the subject of increasing
drug use in local schools was brought up during discussion.

While generally satisfied with what was presented, Scanlan said some areas
are of concern.

"I see gaps with younger kids and in the senior secondary schools," she said.

The Kelowna trustee said rolling out a drug prevention program
district-wide could be done by giving the responsibility of ensuring it's
delivered by school planning councils.

"A lot of them have social responsibility as a component," she said. "This
could fit in well.

The report has been given to the school board's coordinating committee to
return as an action item at a future meeting.