WHS sees alleged drug possession

Almost a dozen Waynesboro High School students face expulsion or suspension over possession of prescription drugs on campus, district officials said Tuesday.

“There is a discipline issue that we are handling internally,” said Principal Tim Teachey, who would not describe what the students were doing or what the penalties might be.

Waynesboro police School Resource Officer Jamie Dunn learned of claims of prescription drug dealing at the school last week and followed with an investigation into 11 students, according to police and school officials.

“There are not going to be any criminal charges relating to it,” police spokesman Sgt. Kelly Walker said.

Walker said Dunn met with administrators and police officials to determine how to proceed, as is “routine” in school incidents, before officials decided not to bring criminal charges.

“In some cases the school can take action where the police cannot,” Walker said.

Police operate on rigorous rules of evidence, Walker said, and considered in this case that all students involved were juveniles.

“We rely a lot on the [school resource] officer, the same way we do with an officer who exercises discretion in the field,” Walker said.

In Virginia, a principal may impose a maximum suspension of 10 days and may recommend a longer suspension or expulsion. Waynesboro School District Superintendent Robin Crowder can impose a 365-day suspension; expulsions would come before the Waynesboro School Board.

Crowder said Tuesday he knows he will have at least one appointment with a student’s parents.

“It is my understanding the parents have been very responsive,” he said.

The school board has not scheduled any hearings related to the case, but could at its regular meeting next month, board Vice Chairman Jeremy Taylor said. The board has not handled any “serious” drug-related issues this school year, he said.

There were 10 drug cases and a single over-the-counter drug incident at Waynesboro High last school year, according to Virginia Department of Education records. In three previous school years, there were five to seven drug cases annually.

Teachey said the school operates under a “zero tolerance” policy regarding drugs and is required to discipline students in such cases.

“We make [students] aware at the beginning of each school year, some of our rules and regulations,” Teachey said. “Everything’s up front … That excuse of ‘I didn’t know I was supposed to do that’ doesn’t work very well.”

But, Crowder said, zero tolerance does not mean “banishment forever.”

Students at the school said drugs brought into the school include Vicodin, Adderall, Percoset and marijuana.

The high school handbook explicitly prohibits possession of illegal drugs and states that students may be disciplined for any offense that would be a felony.

“Student lockers are the property of Waynesboro Public Schools. Student lockers and all vehicles located on school property may be searched by school authorities,” the handbook states. It also lists as possible discipline “mandatory expulsion for no less than one calendar year” for use or possession of controlled substances on school property. Prescription medication cannot be carried by students without consent of a physician and parent.