By Angela Marshall
Each year, student leaders at South Side are asked to sign an agreement that they will remain drug- and alcohol-free both in and out of school. The leaders are students who have influence over others, such as sports team captains, club presidents and members of Students Against Drunk Driving.
Heller and other members of the Rockville Centre Drug and Alcohol Task Force plan to ask the school's board of education to make the drug-and-alcohol-free requirement a district policy. It would then be included in the school handbook that every student receives.
Members of the task force also hope the board will delineate the punishment student leaders will face should they ignore the policy. The current policy spells out no consequences for non-compliance, according to Heller. "It occurred to me that maybe what we need is something with more teeth in it," he said as he explained the plan to the task force at its Dec. 2 meeting.
While many task force members fully supported the plan, high school social worker Naomi Bisk expressed reservations. She doesn't like getting rid of the signature requirement because it brings about a discussion on drug and alcohol use. She is worried that the policy may just become part of the student handbook and may never be talked about. "It needs to be reinforced," she said.
Task force member Pearl Greenfield agreed with Bisk, saying, "I liked the fact that my kid had to read something and sign it...I think something is lost when they're not signing something."
After the task force formerly presents the proposed policy to the board of education at the beginning of next year, the idea will be discussed at at least two meetings before it is adopted.
