Two students suspended at Rancho Santa Fe School for marijuana possession

By Joe Tash

Two middle school students at R. Roger Rowe School in Rancho Santa Fe have been suspended after being caught with a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia on campus, school, Sheriff’s Department officials said.

The incident occurred April 18 and involved two boys, one each in 7th and 8 grades, said Capt. Theresa Adams-Hydar, who recently took over as head of the Sheriff’s Department station in Encinitas. The students were not identified because they are minors.

School officials initially discovered the students in possession of marijuana and called the Sheriff’s Department, said Adams-Hydar. The two students were arrested for simple possession of marijuana and released to their parents. The case will be handled in juvenile court, she said.

The disciplinary action taken by the school was in accordance with the state Education Code and rules established by the Rancho Santa Fe School District governing board, said Cindy Schaub, acting superintendent during a medical leave by Superintendent Lindy Delaney.

The incident was an extremely rare occurrence on campus, said Schaub, and that it was the first time she could recall students being caught with marijuana during her 10 years with the district.

“There’s no indication this is a trend or widespread. It is an isolated incident,” Schaub said.

Schaub said the district did not notify parents about the incident because it was determined, both by school officials and the Sheriff’s Department, that the safety of students was not affected. She said it is not common for the Rancho Santa Fe district, or other districts, to notify parents of such a disciplinary action.

“If this was a school safety issue, we definitely would have informed our public,” Schaub said.

Each year, the school holds a number of events during Red Ribbon week, to encourage healthy activities and discourage drug and alcohol use and smoking, she said.

While school officials don’t believe there is any widespread drug problem on campus, Schaub said, “given that this happened, we will be even more diligent and watchful from this point forward.”