Students Suspended In Drug-Related Incident

Four Fitch High School students were suspended for possession of drugs last  Wednesday, Superintendent Paul Kadri said Monday.

The school’s zero tolerance for possession of drugs, dangerous weapons and alcohol left school officials no choice but to suspend the students for 10 days, with a recommendation for expulsion, Kadri said. 

“We have a very firm drug policy,” said Board of Education Member Pat Doyle, who said the district comes down hard on the first offense to make the message clear that drug use is not tolerated. 

One student was seen stumbling and was referred to the school nurse, according to school officials. The student was later transported to an area hospital after admitting to taking muscle relaxers not prescribed to him. 

“It was a precautionary check,” said Kadri. “We don’t take any chances.” 

School officials are prevented from obtaining any information about a student after the student is sent to a hospital, said Kadri, due to federally mandated privacy laws. 

“Once the kid goes in the hospital we have a really tough time finding out what happened,”  Kadri said.

The affected student allegedly gave some of the drugs to three other students, school officials said. The students did not appear to have taken the drugs, but they were also suspended that day for possession, according to school officials. A third student in the investigation was suspended and also arrested for possession of marijuana, according to school officials. 

All four students will have an expulsion hearing before they are allowed back into school. 

“There’s no set punishment other than the maximum (180 school days of expulsion). It depends on the severity,” said Kadri. “Some things are automatic expulsion (and) some things are discretionary.” 

Drug-related expulsions occur one to two times a month, according to Kadri, with marijuana being the most common. 

“Marijuana is by far our biggest problem,” said Kadri. “I think we’re fighting the battle where people think it’s an acceptable drug. They’re not bad kids, they’re good kids who make a really bad decisions.”