Wednesday, March 7, 2001
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Wednesday, March 7, 2001 |
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Busted at school: kids passing funny money, sharing medications By JOHN MUNFORD In the past few months, the Fayette County School System has caught several students sharing prescription medication with others and attempting to pass counterfeit money to pay for book fines and meals in the cafeteria. This information has been released in the hopes that parents will develop a dialogue with their children to remind them of the serious consequences of such actions, said Wayne Robinson, director of secondary school operations for Fayette County schools. "If we can get some help from the parents at home, that would be great," Robinson said. In each of these cases, the students were automatically suspended from school for 10 days before facing a disciplinary tribunal to determine if they should be permanently expelled from school or face another punishment, Robinson said. The matters also were referred to law enforcement authorities for possible prosecution, he added. Although the incidents have previously been isolated, there have been several in a row in the past few months, he explained. "Transmitting a controlled substance is a violation of the student code of conduct and state law," Robinson said. School officials believe the drugs were being used by students to get high. According to information released from the school system, the two main drugs abused in this manner are Ritalin and Adderal. "We are making sure they are taking the medicine they're supposed to and not selling it or transmitting it to other students," Robinson said. The drug abuse cases were reported at Rising Starr Middle School, Starrs Mill High School and Fayette County High School, Robinson recalled. The counterfeit money cases involved $20 bills that were passed at the lunchroom and the media center at Flat Rock Middle School and Fayette County High School. A cafeteria worker first recognized the funny money and reported it to administrators, Robinson said. In the incident at Flat Rock, seven students were implicated in the transaction, and the matter is being investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, Robinson added. The students claimed that they found the counterfeit bills lying on the street, but that story hasn't been confirmed, Robinson said. "The students need to understand the severity of this: it's a federal offense," Robinson said.
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