An interesting dilemma regarding Kalispell Public Schools’ chemical use policy emerged during spirited discussion at a recent school board work session.

Board members and school officials who have been working on updating the existing policy say they need rules that will stand up in court. Building administrators say they need a policy that gives them firm ground to stand on.

Creating a policy that will meet both needs could take several weeks, if not months. Kalispell trustees’ first reading of the district’s chemical use policy took place last week; it will go through at least two more readings before the board votes on a final version.

One of the major issues deals not with policy but procedure — how schools interpret district policy to create rules for staff and students.

Procedure at Flathead and Glacier high schools includes a “gathering clause,” which says that students not only must refrain from using drugs, alcohol and tobacco but must not be present anywhere those are being used.

Flathead High officials cited the clause in September when four football players were removed from the team after marijuana and paraphernalia were found in their car during a traffic stop. One of the students, Connor Thomas, denied using the pot or owning the paraphernalia, but his presence in the car violated the gathering clause.

After Thomas’ mother sued the school district, District Judge Katherine Curtis not only ordered that Thomas be reinstated to the team but also questioned the legality of the school policy. Part of the problem was its one-and-done nature, a quality trustees tried to address in the first draft of the updated policy and procedure.

The draft says students will get one warning if they violate the gathering clause, followed by subsequent discipline for additional violations. But building administrators said the wording isn’t strong enough in the proposed procedure.

“One pattern that emerges is very loose language,” Glacier High Principal Callie Langohr said. “Whenever I see a lot of ‘mays,’ that causes administrators trouble because that’s all gray area. I mean, it’s worse than gray area.”

The “mays” crop up in the discipline for subsequent gathering clause violations. In the first draft of the procedure, students who violate the clause more than once may be suspended from an activity, may not be allowed to participate in current or future activities and may be subject to further discipline.

“I don’t know how we’re going to work through all those mays,” Langohr said.

Trustee Mary Ruby, chairwoman of the board’s policy committee, pointed out that while the board writes policy, administrators write procedure. While trustees attempted to outline procedures based on policy, those rules ultimately were up to administrators.

That initial outline of procedure was where most of the administrators’ dissatisfaction came from, said Mark Dennehy, Glacier’s activities director.

“When you get into that procedure is where rubber meets the road,” he said. “Written the way it is, we can’t administer very well.”

Administrators said they favored the existing procedure, which is more definitive. Glacier students said they appreciated the current rules as well and did not support a tiered discipline system.

“The policy is really clear-cut. For me, as a student, there is no question. It’s zero tolerance; you do it, you’re done,” senior Brandon Simpson said.

He referred indirectly to Thomas’ case and the possible loss of a college football scholarship that prompted the lawsuit.

“If there’s money involved and you’re going to lose money for doing it — well, don’t do it. It’s not the school’s job to do it,” he said.

Fellow senior Quinn Maroney agreed.

“The zero tolerance policy gives us [motivation to] strive for excellence,” she said. Adding tiers to the policy “gives us the option to opt out of excellence and opt out of something that we should be striving for.”

Glacier speech coach Ryan Motley agreed schools should have a policy that pursues excellence.

“It’s an interesting thing the way the court system works, but when it comes down to it, we should be striving for the moral high ground here,” he said.

The existing system already allows for second chances, he added. Students might be suspended from one activity, but that doesn’t exclude them from participating in other activities or in future seasons.

The tiered policy suggests participation is a right when it should be a privilege, he said.

But school officials and trustees say that according to state law, activities participation is a right. Court rulings have said activities are part of the student’s total education — and under the state Constitution, students are entitled to a free, quality education.

Mark Fischer, Glacier’s head wrestling coach, said he questioned the message a tiered system would send students.

“We’re talking about the rights of kids who have chosen to break the law,” he said. “What about the kids right behind them who chose not to?”

Glacier speech and debate coach Ivanna Fritz agreed. She described a situation that happened when she was teaching at a Billings high school with a “very tiered policy.”

A student confessed to being cited as a minor in possession at a weekend party and temporarily was removed from a theater production. Another student did his best to learn that student’s lines in a short time and performed for him for one night. The next night, the other student’s suspension was over and he took over his role again.

“That student who chose to break the law was not only given [another] opportunity but took an opportunity from another student, and I think that’s wrong,” Fritz said.

Students will figure out how to get around the system if rules and specific punishments are not carefully spelled out, she added.

“Kids are very bright. They know the policy. If you give us a tiered policy of two weeks’ suspension, our kids are not so dumb as to not know how that affects them,” she said. “They will time it to how they want.”

Trustees will continue to discuss the chemical use policy for at least the next couple of months. To submit suggestions or comments, contact school board members or Superintendent Darlene Schottle at schottled@sd5.k12.mt.us.

The policies are available at www.sd5.k12.mt.us. Under the “Board” tab, click on “Policies & Procedures.” Policy 3340 covers chemical use.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.