Boonville responds to drug concerns in high school

Boonville High School is responding to parents’ concerns over rumors of widespread drug use last week.

A parent contacted ABC 17 News after hearing students were caught at the school with the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. The district in a letter to parents called reports of “wide-spread” drug use unsubstantiated.

Boonville High School leaders sent out the following email to parents Thursday:

In response to the reported events at BHS, the Boonville School District is providing the following response:

The District is prevented by state and federal law from providing comment or details about allegations concerning specific student matters. However, recent reports of wide-spread violations of the District’s Board of Education Policy prohibiting drug use are unsubstantiated. The Boonville School District is known in our community for our commitment to providing a safe environment for all students. Safety and health of our students is of the utmost importance to our District and we as an educational community continually work to achieve this goal.

Sincerely, The Boonville School District and Board of Education

Three drug incidents were reported at Boonville High School during the 2017-18 school year, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is a rate of 0.5 incidents per 100 students at the school.

This is the highest rate since the 2012-13 school year, when the school saw one incident per 100 students. The 2012-13 school year had the highest rate dating back to 2009, which is as far back as the state data goes.

A viewer told ABC 17 they had heard a student had been arrested in last week’s incident. The Boonville Police Department referred questions to the Cooper County Juvenile’s Office.

The juvenile office declined to discuss specific cases.