DRUGS, ALCOHOL SAID NOT BIG PROBLEM

SANFORD - Recent surveys of students, parents and staff show that the
majority feel that drugs and alcohol are not a problem in Lee County
schools, although that percentage increases as the age of the students in
question increases.

The survey was completed by the Lee County schools main office.

More than 90 percent of elementary school students said that they do not
have any friends who use alcohol or drugs. Among middle and high schoolers,
that percentage dropped to about 44 percent when asked about alcohol, and
14 percent said that a lot of the people they hang around with drink a lot
of alcohol. However, 86 percent of those students said that alcohol abuse
is not a major problem at their school.

More than 90 percent of teachers countywide said that alcohol is not a
major problem at their school. Most teachers who think alcohol is a major
problem teach at the high school, where about 30 percent felt that alcohol
is a major problem and 20 percent feel that a lot of their students drink
alcohol and 59 percent feel that "a fair amount" do.

When questioned about drug use, at each middle school, more than 70 percent
said that they did not know anyone who uses drugs, but among students at
Lee County High School, that percentage dropped to 29 percent. Almost 40
percent of the county's high schoolers said that a lot of the people they
know use drugs.

Among teachers, 87 percent countywide said that drugs aren't a major
problem at their school. Most respondents who said drugs are a problem were
teachers at the high school. There, 45 percent of teachers said drugs are a
major problem.

In most elementary schools and at Floyd L. Knight, most teachers do not
believe any students use drugs. In the two middle schools, about 65 percent
believe that some students do, and at the high school, about 87 percent of
teachers believe that a few to a fair amount of students use drugs at some
times.

Most students in middle or high school - 62 percent - believe that it would
be easy or very easy for a student at their school to obtain illegal drugs
in school. At the two middle schools, about 45 percent of students believed
that getting drugs would be easy.