By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The Princeton school district saw an uptick in students getting in trouble for substance abuse during a six –month span ending in June, compared to the same time frame last year.
Superintendent of Schools Stephen C. Cochrane, outlining the violence and vandalism report during the Board of Education meeting Tuesday, said there were nine incidents, compared to one in 2016. Of the nine students involved, eight attended Princeton High School and one attended John Witherspoon Middle School, he said.
PHS has an enrollment of 1,600 students and John Witherspoon has nearly 800.
A counselor who advises students on substance abuse issues, primarily at the high school, will begin spending part of her week at the middle school, Cochrane said. The idea, he said, is to be able to catch “some of these issues early and provide more education early.”
“For our district, at this point, what we’re seeing is alcohol and marijuana,” Cochrane said when asked about the substances. “We have had kids who have brought in pills, prescription cold medicine and that kind of thing that we also have to take a look at.”
He said the district has not seen the opioids that other districts are confronting.
