In-house suspensions at STHS a possibility
By Kathryn Reed
Students at South Tahoe High School who are caught with or under the influence of drugs, including alcohol, get what amounts to a three-day vacation from school. That could change.
In the past the school had a diversion program where students would get counseling as part of the process. With cutbacks in recent years, the school has lost two counselors, a community outreach person who was bilingual, a clerk who made calls to see why kids weren’t at school and a full-time person for the high school who handled the School Attendance Review Board.
To date for this school year, there have been 27 alcohol or drug offenses at the school. Nine of those were committed by the same three people. Five were alcohol related and committed at the same time.
South Tahoe police Officer Aaron Crawford, left, and South Tahoe High Vice Principal Dennis Sarosik talk Dec. 9 about student drug use. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Freshmen or sophomores usually commit the infractions. After a while the kids figure out it’s not a good idea to be bringing drugs to school.
“Alcohol is not the drug of choice, it’s marijuana,” Dennis Sarosik, STHS vice principal, said.
South Tahoe police Officer Aaron Crawford is the school resource officer. He patrols the grounds along with a probation officer.
“It’s easy access here at the lake. It’s easier to get than alcohol,” Crawford said of marijuana.
It’s so pervasive that South Lake Tahoe is known as a “green community” and that has nothing to do with the environment.
Sarosik and Crawford were at the Dec. 9 South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition meeting to talk about what happens to students who are caught with drugs and listen to ideas from coalition members.
The first infraction a student is suspended for three days; the second comes with a five-day suspension. Alternative education is the next course of action. Referrals to Tahoe Youth & Family Services are also given, but are not mandatory.
Athletes face other consequences per NIAA regulations.
The coalition is working on devising a program where students will serve suspensions at the school.
STHS used to have a diversion program. It is part counseling – which could be individual, group and/or family; criminal justice (this piece is all that exists today); and school support.
The latter is important because so many of the multiple offenders are also failing more than one subject.
“There is a need for academic support. We need someone there to manage it,” Sarosik said.
Sarosik said the school would be open to resurrecting the diversion program, but it does not have the manpower to make it happen.
Hector Reyes, supervising health education coordinator with El Dorado County, said his department and others in the community could provide the counseling piece. Tahoe Turning Point and TY&FS also have drug and alcohol counselors on staff.
Lake Tahoe Unified School District does not have a drug-testing program, unlike its neighbor Douglas County School District. DCSD started the program in 2009-10 for students who participate in athletics and other extra curricular activities.
Sarosik said cost is a prohibiting factor to drug testing, as well as that it is hard to test for synthetics. However, it was pointed out that Tahoe Turning Point tests for drugs onsite at a cost of $15.
STHS does use a breathalyzer at dances on everyone coming and going.
“It’s changed the character of dances. There’s no more projectile vomit or people passing out,” Sarosik said.
But it’s not just high school students using. Crawford said the number of marijuana infractions this year is increasing at South Tahoe Middle School. Every year there are a couple elementary students who are high or are possessing drugs.
Here are some stats from 2011-12 regarding drug use at STMS, STHS and Mt. Tallac high.
The goal is for coalition members to research other diversion programs, for drug counselors to devise a way to provide STHS help, and for the school to figure out what it would need to make it all work.
Marijuana presents some of the same problems that alcohol use presents to society. When used moderately and responsibly, there is not often harm arising from its use. But in the hands of irresponsible users, social problems often arise and grow into serious problems that sometimes include dangerous consequences. Many of us want marijuana available for those whom need it for medical purposes? What’s happening at the high school is one reason why I don’t want marijuana dispensaries all over town. But I will be accepting of two or three that are controlled by reasonable law. If the voters are given a choice between many dispensaries, or none at all, I bet none at all would win out.
We bring children into adult society at a younger and younger age and still expect them to act like children when it comes to drugs and sex. And God forbid, don’t bring up the subject of morals or religion and free choice. Give me a break. You are fighting the problem from the wrong side of the ledger. Can’t anyone see our social structures collapsing.
Just give us more money the lefties say because it is working so well.
So, lets assume steve kubby gets his way with having a pot store on every street in slt. Do we see how this will help or hinder the issue with our young children having access to pot. Yup, get them started early so they can have a long life of addiction to look forward to. Thanks steve!
Communist Goal #28: Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state”
Religion and morals are not synonymous.
DON’T BELIEVE THE NONSENSE ABOUT POT SHOPS ON EVERY CORNER!
Anyone who thinks we will have a pot store on every street corner has obviously not read our initiative. Even the city attorney had to remove his comments about “Unlimited Dispensaries.” and issue a new Title and Summary to be published tomorrow. The fact is we have more restrictions than the current law on who can open and operate a dispensary. Only those who have been residents for over a year in SLT can qualify. And the city council retains the right to ban signage or ban new dispensaries after six months. So please, stop repeating these falsehoods.
Bob — Religion and prayer belong in church, not school. There are also private religious schools out there if that is your preference.
School and access to drugs are not the problem. Parenting is the problem. Poverty and escapism is the problem. Teens always have and always will experiment with drugs and alcohol.
well stated, john s…tax funded organizations should not be tarnished by religion. and religious organizations need to be taxed as the businesses that they are.
The schools continue to have cuts to the most important facet; the kids. Counselors, adjunct faculty on campus as a presence, yearly drug and violence prevention education, they are all gone. The counselors that remain must often times jump in with administrators just to intervene in problems that arise. The troops are on the campus and working at the schools. They are fantastic adults who do care for our kids. Unfortunately they do not have the programs and person power they need to provide the prevention piece. As to the discussion of dispensaries…this has always been a conflict for me. We do need access for those who legitimately need the medical assistance BUT I am opposed to them being within the confines of the main drag connected with other businesses who simply are tired of the odor. I am also opposed to more than one. We are a small community and even my loved ones who used the dispensary and are now gone did not like the locations nor the amount in our community. Kids ARE getting mixed messages about tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs all the time. We can’t control all of it, but we can control some of it.
I am still trying to figure out why Bob brought up prayer and communism with regard to this article in the first place.
In school suspension is what we should be working towards rather than letting these kids have a 3-5 day unsupervised holiday. It needs to be a meaningful suspension with drug/alcohol counseling, family counseling ( often these kids have little supervision or positive role models) , maybe peer counseling from kids/young adults who have straightened out their lives. We have some pretty good grant writers in our community , as well as resources like Tahoe youth and family services, live violence free, Casa, teen court, that can come together with creative solutions to this problem
You see what can happen Steve. Your idea may be honorable, but you have to consider unintended consequences. I don’t think you’re initiative is responsibly addressing the problems with medical marijuana dispensaries. If your initiative passes we can expect more of these dispensaries in our town. Most of us who will vote don’t think that is good for our town. Even if the youths are getting their marijuana from other sources, we don’t want to send them the message that it’s okay. I expect the voters will vote your initiative down. The solution may lay in changing federal law, then allowing marijuana dispersed only through pharmacies. As federal law sits today, the pharmacies don’t dare carry medical marijuana.
It what formally seemed like an impossible situation for the schools, I think in house suspension is a good idea.
On one hand suspension, means less revenue because the kid isn’t in attendance, (ADA Funding) therefore compounding the already stretched budget of the district.
On the other hand there needs to be consequences for wrong behavior within the school.
I think in house suspension really is a best case scenario. Make a kid come to school (collect funding) but discipline them by making them stay in a special class (think of traffic school) to pay for their crimes. It certainly beats the idea of letting a kid break the rules and then get a three day vacation away from the school.
Detention. Sweeping the sidewalks. Shoveling snow. Laps. Push-ups. Peer humiliation. School cleanup. There are plenty of ways to get kids’ attention.
I agree that both parenting and the collapse of our social community are to blame. Marijuana and alcohol have never been hard to find for a teen who’s looking. When I was at STHS both and more were supplied by a school security guard, for a fee of course. If 9 of the 27 involved the same 3 kids, where were the parents? In house suspension is best option for the school. Are arrests made in drug possession cases?
Raina:
You should have said ‘no’.
Problem solved.
Yes, in-house suspension with the parents!
I agree with Joe and Dan Wilvers regarding on campus suspension for students. I have attended meetings and heard teachers lament the current policy of “act out, get out”. Students that brake rules and don’t want to be there are rewarded, and the school loses ADA which perpetuates the staffing shortages.
I have shared my disappoint with the amount of litter observed on our beautiful STHS campus with a high school teacher, and asked why Dan Stroehler’s suggestion above was not used. I was informed that it is illegal to force school offenders to perform community service in the schools regardless of infraction. Perhaps if you gave offenders the choice of performing some work for the community good versus OCR (on campus retention) we might find a better fit.
I managed kids programs. When discipline problem kids were sent to my office I would give them some hand tools and have them dismantle throw away VCRs and asked them to guess what parts did what. They needed time to decompress but keep busy independently doing something.
Everyone needs to feel valued, and the young need to be guided. When the village that is supposed to raise the child fails, and school administrators hands are tied, our expectations can’t be good
Pot always has been easier to get than alcohol. Back in the 60’s, 70’s, and from what I have seen living in Tahoe since the 70’s it has always been that way. Long before dispensaries. Back in the day if we were caught with pot, we got arrested and went to juvenile court along with our parents. Now you get suspension. If you want to drive the message home, the vehicle that carries the message needs to be changed.