COEUR d’ALENE — Vaping and the use of electronic cigarettes on school grounds has become such a problem that school officials are preparing for action.

During the Coeur d’Alene School Board meeting Monday night, a 40-minute discussion led to the proposal to update school policy language to specifically target e-cigarettes (both nicotine and THC), advocate for a legislative ban on flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products, involve community partners to assist with educational opportunities for families and patrons to learn about risks associated with vaping and increase supervision by adding one campus security officer to each middle school.

These devices have gotten smaller and more discreet, with vapor plumes that can be nearly indetectable. They can attach to drawstrings on hooded sweatshirts, so students with this specialized gear can use their devices in plain sight.

Lakes Middle School Principal Jeff Bengston said his team is confiscating “a vape a week” from students.

“It is a nightmare for us, each and every day,” he said.

All of the bathroom doors at Lakes are now open to deter students from vaping, Bengston said.

“At first that was an issue, but most people have thanked us for doing that, and students, because behind closed doors they didn’t necessarily want to go in there,” he said, adding that there is still privacy in the bathrooms, but the open doors have helped with this issue.

Coeur d’Alene Public Schools director of secondary education Trina Caudle said this problem really started increasing last year.

“This year, thanks to our levy, we added campus safety officers,” she said. “This has really made a big difference. Extra boots on the ground — those safety officers patrol the bathrooms, patrolling hallways — really has made quite an impact.”

Lake City High’s School Resource Officer Nate Peterson said students have taken up “stealth vaping” where they hold a vape in their mouth or lungs for a few seconds until it dissipates, and they can do this in class when a teacher’s back is turned.

“They’re getting very clever,” he said. “We went to a zero-tolerance in regards to if you get caught with a vape, everybody knows at Lake City now, you will get a ticket from me, which is $74, and on the school side it’s three days of in-school suspension.”

He said some of these products are 50 percent nicotine, so “I’m seeing a lot of repeat offenders because now it’s no longer about being cool, it’s about getting that nicotine fix. Now we have kids that are actually addicted.”

One student, Peterson said, has been in trouble five times in 12 months for vaping at school.

“Now we’re looking at a whole other issue,” he said. “How do we fix that? It’s not going to be an hour class. As long as those companies are making money, I think we’re going to continue to see issues.”

Board trustees closely listened and engaged the presenters with many questions and ideas, but it was Vice Chair Lisa May who expressed why it is so critical to keep kids from falling victim to this addiction.

“I lost two parents to tobacco, and I think we are again engendering a new generation to be addicted to nicotine,” she said. “If there was something we could do sitting up here to prevent anybody from ever picking up the vape — it smells good, tastes good and is supposedly cool — I am willing to invest taxpayer dollars to increase education. These kids do not recognize that what they’re doing is jeopardizing their lives. We have students across the country dying from vaping, so I really believe we owe it to them for the district to be a leader in this, thinking outside of the box and finding ways to impress upon these students that vaping isn’t a game. It’s their life.”