BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN – Township students as young as eighth grade who participated in a survey stated that they feel drugs and alcohol are readily available, according to results that were released to the public at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
Other data collected from the American Drug and Alcohol Survey questionnaire, only filled out by those students whose parents permitted them to do so, showed that about 40 percent of high school seniors surveyed said that they did drugs with their friends after school hours, almost half of the juniors surveyed passed out while drinking and almost half of the juniors said they were unable to remember anything following drinking. Another statistic showed over 40 percent of seniors surveyed stated they use both alcohol and marijuana.
Interim Superintendent Karen Bilbao spoke about the results of this first-time survey.
“The purpose of this survey is not to alarm anybody, but rather let people know what is going on with our students,” Bilbao said. “This just shows we have to do more to protect our students. Even just minimal drug use can affect our students and the learning process.”
Bilbao also said that nearly 50 percent of eighth-graders took part in the survey, along with 26 percent of ninth-graders, 17 percent of 10th-graders, 18 percent of 11th-graders, and 11 percent of 12th-graders.
The statistics could help advance a proposed policy that would require high school students who are involved in school activities or those who want to park their vehicles on school grounds to submit to random drug testing. The policy was first discussed at a meeting in February.
Bilbao said that a vote on the drug testing policy would be conducted at a board meeting in the near future.