District tackling drug use

The Laguna Beach Unified School District is taking renewed steps to combat drug and alcohol use by students.

An Alcohol and Other Drugs Prevention Steering Committee formed in September has been meeting monthly to attack a set of goals identified in the last school year by the Board of Education, said district official Irene White, who is coordinating the effort.

The steering committee is just the first step in creating a community coalition/task force involving various city leaders, from the chief of police to the City Council, health agencies and youth groups.

The first task force meeting is tentatively planned for February.

The district has had a drug/alcohol task force in previous years, but it had been discontinued, according to school board members.

The renewed efforts come on the heels of a disturbing 2006 survey that indicated Laguna Beach 11th-graders had the highest incidence of drug and alcohol abuse of any district in Orange County.

The report generated nationwide attention at a time when many in Laguna Beach were bristling over the publicity from the MTV reality show based on Laguna Beach High School students, after some current and former stars were involved in high-profile alcohol- and drug-related incidents.

“It’s no secret there is a concern with drugs and alcohol,” White said.

A new survey indicates that students continue to use drugs and alcohol, particularly in ninth grade.

Over the past school year, several students have been arrested on or near the campus for involvement with drugs or alcohol.

The Healthy Kids Survey is conducted every two years. The 2008 survey results indicate little improvement in Laguna Beach over the last survey.

The school board has hired a consultant, Bill Beacham, who is executive director of the Center for Drug-Free Communities, to conduct a needs assessment of the district.

Beacham has visited every campus and is expected to give a report to the district within a few weeks, White said.

“We want drug-free schools,” White said. “We will find out where the gaps are and then put together a program to fill the gaps.”

White said that one area of focus will be teaching school staff members and parents to identify the signs of drug or alcohol use or abuse.

At a March PTA Coffee Break meeting on the topic of drug and alcohol abuse, high school Assistant Principal Bob Billinger noted that parents often underplay the danger of kids’ experimenting with entry-level drugs like marijuana.

White said that the district has not sat back and waited for a report on the subject, but has been taking proactive steps.

One step is to implement “replacement” activities to give kids a recreational outlet that does not include drugs or alcohol. Several “Girls’ Nights Out” events for Laguna Beach High School girls have been held, including a pajama party and an ice skating excursion. Plans are afoot for “boys’” nights as well.

The activities, which are chaperoned, “replace free time with structured activities,” she said.

“We’re excited, and we’re looking forward to Beacham’s findings,” White said.

CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 494-2087 or cindy.frazier@latimes.com.