SUSPENSIONS ON THE RISE

Number of students sent home for an indefinite period--mostly for drug use
or fighting--increases especially at Brooks' junior campus

Marijuana use and fighting are cited as the main reasons behind an
unusually high number of school suspensions in School District 47 last
month. There were 38 suspensions in September this year compared to 31
suspensions in September last year, but it's the number of indefinite
suspensions that are alarming to school trustees. In September 2002, most
suspensions handed out were for 10 days or less.

"It's very unusual," said assistant district superintendent Jay Yule at a
recent school board meeting. "It's almost double. I'm hoping it's an anomaly."

The school district's report shows 22 indefinite non-violent suspensions
for September 2003 compared to 11 in September 2002. The district's report
shows there were 12 indefinite suspensions for violent incidents which
include fighting, physical altercations, and threats of bodily harm in
September 2003. There were no indefinite violent suspensions in September 2002.

Yule says the spike in September's indefinite non-violent suspension
figures can mostly be attributed to marijuana use involving 13- and
14-year-olds at Brooks Secondary School's Junior Campus. Most of the
suspensions were given to students for third offenses, with prior offenses
dating back to the previous school year.

"Our policy is that on your third drug offence in a Powell River school you
will receive an indefinite suspension which will be reviewed by a committee
who will decide on a course of action which could range from expulsion to
counselling to alternative education placement," explained Yule.

A number of students caught using marijuana at school are "chronic users"
said Yule, noting that the district has seen a rise in the accepted use of
marijuana among youth.

Drug use was identified as a problem last year and the school district and
community partners hosted a forum on the issue earlier this year. "It's
been identified by the community and you are seeing it manifest itself in
schools," said Yule in an interview. "With marijuana you don't see a lot of
youth picked up by the RCMP and convictions in court. I guess we're one of
the areas where there can be serious consequences for drug use even if it's
a very small amount."

Although marijuana use is responsible for most of the non-violent
suspensions, a number of indefinite violent suspensions were handed out for
altercations between students.

"It's been a bit of a rough start at the junior campus," said Yule, noting
that suspensions were also handed out for fighting. "We had a number of
altercations mostly at the junior campus." They were reported as fights and
could involve anything from one punch to wrestling to one student hitting
another to a fist fight.

All the students who received suspensions have returned to school.