Stoughton High Comes Out Clean in Thursday Drug Sweep with Minimal Findings

Stoughton High administration and the Stoughton Police Department led a standard canine drug sweep of the school Thursday morning, according to principal Julie Miller, and the school, by and large, came out clean.

"It went really smoothly," Miller said. "The Stoughton Police Department was really fantastic. They really knew how to get the job done."

Students and staff were in lockdown for a little more than an hour on Oct. 25 as classrooms, hallways and the parking lot were checked. No dogs went near a student or went into any classroom where there was a student presence, however. When the dogs were brought into a classroom, students were temporarily moved to another classroom as the sweep took place.

"What was found was very minimal," Miller said.

Miller said that four students were spoken with about either possession of drugs or possession of drug paraphernalia. She said that the school will follow the policies set forth in the school handbook to deal with disciplinary action for the four students.

The total student body is 1,082, Miller said, so only a minuscule percentage were found to be in possession of drugs or paraphernalia.

"It's encouraging that our students are not bringing things onto school grounds that they shouldn't be," Miller said.

This was the first drug sweep of the year at Stoughton High. Plans of the drug sweep were not announced to the student body. Results of this sweep are similar to one conducted in May of 2011 where three students were found to be in possession of drugs or in possession of drug paraphernalia.

Miller said students and staff were cooperative during the search. She said the goal is to create a school environment that is safe and that it is a "priority of the administration to maintain that atmosphere of safety."