The Board views with grave concern the serious implications of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use by people, specifically young people, all over the United States and especially in the school district. In keeping with its primary responsibility–the education of youth–the Board charges the professional staff of the district to continue to investigate the causes of student and school staff involvement with drugs and alcohol, and to develop suitable preventive measures however and whenever feasible.

The Board and the professional staff will continue to seek ways to educate students and school staff of the district about the dangers of the illegal use of drugs and the abuse of alcohol; they will support the majority of our students and staff who are resisting such use. Instructional units will include sessions about the causes and effects of drugs and alcohol abuse, especially in young people.

The following objectives must be realized if the goal of minimizing drug and alcohol abuse is to be achieved:

1. Students must be encouraged to identify the problem and its causes, and to organize to solve it.

2. They should understand the nature of legal and illegal drugs.

3. They must be encouraged to develop a set of values and behavioral insights, which will give them a deeper understanding of themselves and society.

4. They must be encouraged to identify the variety of alternative forms of behavior, other than drug or alcohol abuse, which are available to satisfy their needs.

5. They must be encouraged to make constructive decisions concerning the use of drugs and alcohol.

While the Board in no way condones the abuse of illegal or harmful substances, it is in the interest of students and staff health that an “ombudsman” climate be created in the schools so that people with problems may seek and receive help without fear of reprisal.