HUNTINGTON BEACH : School Board Eases No-Smoking Policy

Accommodating concerns of school employees who smoke, the Ocean View School District board this week relaxed the district’s no-smoking policy--the strictest among county schools.

Less than nine months after enacting the districtwide smoking ban, the Board of Trustees agreed to allow employees to smoke outside of buildings on district property, as long as smokers cannot be seen by children. Smoking is still banned in district buildings at all times.

Under the original policy, adopted last October, employees or visitors were forbidden from smoking anywhere on district property, while traveling in district vehicles or when attending a school-sponsored event. Ocean View is the only school district in the county that had completely banned smoking on its properties.

A small group of non-teaching district employees, including maintenance workers and secretaries, complained that the restriction was unduly harsh.

Many of the employees who argued against the rule work at the district’s maintenance facility and its main offices, where there are no students present. To comply with the rule, smokers said, they had to drive or walk from those sites--often into a residential area filled with children.