DRUG POLICY AT CONCORD MISINTERPRETED

Principal Says Each Case Is Examined Individually.

Entering school with a bottle of painkillers that she forgot to remove
from her backpack, the girl remains calmly unaware. During the day,
the bottle is discovered and she is immediately expelled. After all,
it is zero tolerance.

This is an all-too-common misconception made about Concord High
School. There is not a zero tolerance policy and the origin of the
misunderstanding remains a mystery.

"I'm not sure where the idea that Concord has a zero tolerance policy
came from, but there definitely is not one," Concord Principal Rob
Staley said. "Each case is examined individually. We gather facts from
several sources and then disciplinary actions are decided and enforced."

The enforcer of the decided repercussions is dean of students, Kristie
Cerling. She provided the majority of information on this subject
because she is the one who decides the punishment that each student
receives for negligence of the rules printed in the CHS handbook.

"The school board mandates that a student in possession of any drugs
receive a minimum of one day suspension," Cerling said.

This less severe punishment would most likely be found in a case of a
student in possession of vitamins. Although far less extreme than
alcohol or other drugs, vitamins are not permitted to be kept at
school unless left with the nurse. As many as 10 students have been
found in possession of illegal substances in recent past weeks.

Some punishments used with the possession of a deadly weapon in school
are difficult to understand. In the handbook it can be read, that:
"The penalty of a deadly weapon: up to 10 days suspension and
expulsion from school for a period of up to one calendar year."

The reason for the 10-day suspension given prior to the student's
expulsion from school is that the high school does not expel anyone,
explained Cerling.

Cerling is responsible for suspending them from school and writing a
recommendation of expulsion that is sent to the central office. There,
they decide if and for how long a student is expelled.

According to Cerling, the minimum expulsion from school is one year;
however, a student can earn his or her way back earlier.