EXPULSIONS BECAUSE OF DRUG USE ON THE RISE

The Lake Washington School District has seen a sharp rise in the
number of drug-related suspensions and expulsions this school year, a
trend school officials described as disturbing but not entirely unexpected.

Drug use in the schools in the Kirkland and Redmond areas follows a
predictable pattern, district officials said, with peaks and valleys
every few years. After several semesters of declining drug offenses,
the district is now seeing a surge. If the trend continues, school
officials say the number of suspensions and expulsions this year could
rise as much as 50 percent over last year.

In a Monday meeting with the School Board, district officials offered
no clear explanation for the spike. They said it was likely a
combination of factors, from an increased vigilance among
administrators to a new willingness among students to report offenders.

"Numbers are funny," said board member Jackie Pendergrass. "It may not
be that there's more use, but that we're catching it more than before."

As of Jan. 24, school officials had 96 suspensions or expulsions for
drug-related offenses. The total of drug-related suspensions and
expulsions for the 2001-02 school year was 132.

In recent months, high school officials have mobilized to cope with
the problem. Lake Washington High School formed a parent task force
last fall; Juanita High School is planning a community initiative; and
next week, Eastlake High School will sponsor a public forum with
police and city officials in attendance.

Eastlake Principal Rondel Hardie said she hopes the community will see
itself as a partner in the long-term campaign against substance abuse.

"Drug use amongst adolescents is everybody's issue," she
said.

The district already has a number of drug-awareness initiatives,
beginning as early as kindergarten with the Police Partners program,
which brings officers into the classrooms to discuss the dangers of
drugs. Drug awareness is also built into the curriculum at some
schools, officials said.

Hardie said the topic finds its way into a variety of courses, from
history to chemistry. In Spanish class, for example, students learn
about the evolution of the violent drug cartels in South America.

Officer Stacey Holland, of the Redmond Police Department, said school
resource officers are getting more anonymous tips from students than
ever before.

"The kids are getting to a point where they're not as tolerant as they
were in the past," Holland said.

School officials say they are concerned that some parents are too
tolerant of drug use.

"It is a community problem in how we look at drugs and how we are with
our own children. Some parents take it less seriously than others,"
said Pendergrass.

Students can reduce the number of days in their suspension if they
agree to an evaluation by a drug-prevention specialist. But often,
with the full support of parents, the children avoid the evaluation
and serve the full suspension.

Whatever the reason - fear of stigma or reluctance to see drug use as
a problem - parents end up sending a dangerous message to their
children, school officials say.

"It's frustrating from a police perspective," Holland said. "The key
component is educating the child and getting them help."