Zero Tolerance

NEWEST SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER WANTS TOUGHER DRUG PUNISHMENTS

Rick Johnson Says Montgomery County's Board Is "Out Of Step" With
Other School Systems.

Rick Johnson believes the Montgomery County School Board is soft on drugs.
And as the board's newest member, his top priority has been to push for
tougher penalties in student disciplinary cases involving drugs. He's voted
in closed sessions to expel students caught distributing controlled
substances while other members have chosen to suspend, he said.

"The issue is so important to me because I think that the parents of
Montgomery County aren't aware" of drug problems, Johnson said. "We're
seeing in my mind, too many cases of prescription drug abuse."

He has personal reasons, too: As the parent of two children in the school
system, he worries about his middle schooler.

"If the exposure level comes so high, when does my child make that error in
judgment?" he said.

The number of drug incidents actually dropped at middle and high schools in
the school system between 2000-01 and 2001-02, but Superintendent Fred
Morton reported a small increase in prescription drug violations at the
middle schools last year.

During an Oct. 15 closed session, the board voted to suspend a high
schooler who had ground up the painkiller Loritab and gave it to a friend
to snort, Johnson said. He said he voted to expel the student, who also
disclosed that he had outstanding drug charges.

"The board has the capability in an expulsion to have that student come
back before the board before they're readmitted to school and tell us what
the student has done during the expulsion," Johnson said. "Have they
received drug counseling? Do they have proof that they're drug free? Have
they done community service? Have they kept up with their studies?"

He said he was the lone member favoring expulsion for a student in January
who shared sleeping pills with another pupil who took about a dozen over
the weekend, overdosed and was rushed to the hospital for a stomach-pumping.

Last year, as a board candidate, Johnson favored the superintendent's
initiative to look into drug problems in the schools, which was announced
at the end of the 2000-01 school year.

"We had heard, and it was generally believed, that in Blacksburg, the
middle school was a place where there were many problems - drug problems,"
Johnson said.

Now as a board member, Johnson believes that board punishments are "out of
step" with other school systems and that the board is tied to its past
decisions.

Board chairman Wat Hopkins said he's glad Montgomery County isn't in line
with some school systems that have expelled students for minor violations
such as bringing water guns to school.

"Montgomery County deals with the issues that are before Montgomery
County," added board member Mike Smith.

And while the board gives weight to previous decisions, it's open to other
approaches, board member Jim Klagge said.

During an October board meeting, Johnson explained that he opposed a motion
to suspend a student who breached the system's drug policy because he
favored expulsion in that case.

But many people don't attend the meetings, he said, and citizens who do
don't have a frame of reference to understand votes that relate to
closed-session matters. The board doesn't explain students' infractions or
the reasons behind decisions.

Klagge said he's fine with Johnson talking to the newspaper about his
feelings, and Smith said he has a right to do so - although he would have
preferred that Johnson raise the issues at the board's upcoming retreat,
which is usually at the end of February or beginning of March.

Board member Mary Hayne North described Johnson's actions as divisive but
said he has a right to his feelings: "His frustration is that we all don't
agree with him."

Board members declined to talk about the details of closed sessions but
responded to Johnson's complaints.

"Very rarely is a decision based on a 4-3 vote," Hopkins said. "That tells
me, for the most part, the members of the board are in agreement." North
said she's voted for expulsions but opposes taking a hard line against all
students.

"I've had teenagers," she said. "He has not. It's hard for me to sit in
there and [think], 'There but for the grace of God.' I don't know, maybe
I'm just a sympathetic person."

Closed sessions are often tearful for families and the board, said
vice-chairwoman Tacy Newell-Foutz. "Rick has always been just zero
tolerance for anything coming close to abuse," she said.

And "Mr. Johnson has not been on that board long enough to know how the
board has readjusted itself to make sure we're doing the best thing for
everyone involved," board member Penny Franklin said.

Johnson wants some students expelled for drug violations to have drug tests
to show proof of being drug-free.

"When I first brought it up, I was roundly voted down," he said. "It was
called an intrusion into the students' rights."

But the board has asked some students to take drug tests, Klagge said.

"The board cannot, by itself, wave a magic wand and make everything
better," Franklin said. "It's going to take cooperation from the community."

Drugs may be included in a discussion about student disciplinary problems
at an upcoming retreat, Hopkins said.

To find out how pervasive drugs are in the school system, Johnson said
student interviews or surveys could be useful. He wants parents to hear of
any findings so they'll support measures to stop the problem.

"I'd like to hear back from them then, that when we have situations where
there's drug distribution, how are they feeling about suspension vs. expulsion?"