West Hempstead parent: Students used marijuana on school grounds

A West Hempstead parent called on officials of the West Hempstead School District last week to increase security at the middle school after he said he saw a group of students with marijuana on school grounds.

On July 26 at around 10 a.m., according to William Signorile — who has two children in the district and who ran unsuccessfully in May for a seat on the Board of Education — he was picking up his daughter, a sophomore at West Hempstead High School, from summer school.

The program, he explained, is held at the middle school, and is operated by Nassau BOCES. Signorile said his daughter — whom he would not name — attends the first session, which runs from 8 to 10 a.m.

When he arrived, Signorile said, he spotted a group of six to 10 teenage male students “smoking weed” on school grounds. The teenagers were situated among bushes and trees on a hill alongside the middle school building.

“They were passing the joint around,” Signorile said. “I know I smelled dope. This is the second or third time I’ve seen this. What they do at home, it’s their business. But when they go to school, I don’t need to see that.”

Signorile said that he contacted the school district, and was told that there is only a single security guard on staff during this year’s summer school program.

“They were out of sight [from security],” Signorile said of the students. “They got one security guard for summer school — I have a problem with that. The district, they’re not protecting anyone’s kids. Everyone’s sticking their heads in the sand here.”

Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham told the Herald that school officials have been in contact with Signorile about his complaint, but Cunningham would not comment further.

According to district policy, no person “may use, possess, sell, or distribute alcohol or other substances, nor may use or possess drug paraphernalia, on school grounds.”

Furthermore, a student who is apprehended on school property selling, possessing or using illegal substances, the policy states, will be suspended.