Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

District considers amending drug policy

Gurdon's School Board is looking at updating its drug policy so the district can take advantage of money from the tobacco lawsuit.

Melissa Franklin, a Gurdon teacher, said the district will be working closer with the Dawson Cooperative on this. Originally, Gurdon and many other school districts in the state weren't eligible for tobacco settlement money because there weren't enough people involved to participate. However, by going through the Dawson Co-op the district was able to get funding.

According to Franklin, officials with Dawson agreed to apply for the funding. She said once the money came in there are programs in science and health it is being used on.

The district, though, she said, must come up with a more intensive tobacco policy. The board was presented a copy of the proposed policy, which it will address at its April meeting.

Parents are to be sent information concerning the policy. This information must be signed and returned to show they actually saw it.

Franklin said there are places where people can get help to kick the tobacco habit, and the co-op will help out with signs posted saying no tobacco products allowed on school grounds.

In order to participate in the grant, Franklin said, the policy must be passed before the end of this year.

The data Franklin presented to the board includes advertising, which states there will be no advertising of tobacco products in school buildings, on school property, at school functions or in all school publications.

There will also be preventative education with the grant money. This will involve students in Kindergarten through the 12th grade with a comprehensive health curriculum to make students aware of the health and social consequences of using or not using tobacco products.

The policy, if approved, will be included in all employee and student handbooks. It will also be posted in highly visible places throughout all schools in the district. Along with this, signs will be posted at the entrances of school buildings, school properties and athletic facilities.

For the purposes of the policy, tobacco includes any lit or unlit cigarette, cigar, pipe, bidi, clove cigarette and any other smoking product, along with smokeless tobacco, dip, chew and snuff in any form.

In addition, tobacco use is defined as smoking, carrying or having in one's possession a lighted cigarette, pipe or other object giving off or containing any substance giving off smoke, and chewing smokeless tobacco, dip, chew and snuff in any form.

Those who violate the policy will be punished. In grades k-4, the first offense will result in the confiscation of the product and the parents being contacted. The second and other offenses could result in the losing the product, having parents called and having the police involved.

For middle and high school, grades 5-12, the first offense will result in the loss of the product, notification of parents, suspension of one day and/or calling the police. Students will be offered resources to help them kick the habit.

Second offenses will result in the loss of product, parental notification, parental conference, a day's suspension, calling the police and offering resources to help quit smoking, chewing or dipping.

In the event of a third offense, the punishment will be the loss of product, notifying of parents, suspension from school, calling the police, turning the tobacco product over to the police and a parental conference. Again, students will be offered resources to help them quit.

Students aren't the only ones targeted for punishment if the policy is violated.

The first offense for a member of the faculty or staff will be a written warning by the appropriate administrator and being referred to a cessation program.

The second offense will net a formal reprimand by the appropriate administrator and a letter of reprimand being placed in their personnel file. Again, they will be referred to a cessation program.

Should a third offense occur, the person involved will go before the school board and referred to a cessation program.

Visitors found using tobacco products on school grounds or at school functions will be asked by school officials to refrain from such behavior while on district property. They will be informed of the school's policy, and if they don't comply, they will be asked to leave. Should they refuse, law enforcement will be notified.