OJAI : Student Drinking on Rise, Officials Say

Alcohol consumption by Nordhoff High School students has escalated into a major problem this school year, officials said.

Students bring alcohol to school, are intoxicated in class and at school dances, and attend parties where adults provide alcoholic drinks, Principal Ron Barney told Ojai Unified School District board members Tuesday.

“I’m not talking about dozens and dozens” of students, Barney said. “But it is a significant number.”

This school year, 14 students have each been suspended for five days and a school parking lot has been declared off limits during school hours because of alcohol-related incidents, Barney said.

In an effort to curtail the problem, school officials will direct more students to Project Impact, an existing substance abuse intervention program on campus. In the past, about 30 students a year have voluntarily participated, he said.

In addition, students suspected of having substance abuse problems may, with permission of their parents, be referred to Vista Del Mar, a private hospital that has offered free evaluations.

Student lockers may be searched and an alcohol breath analyzer may be used at student functions and dances, Barney said.

The problem was first made public last week when Russ Whitmeyer, a private investigator, told the Ojai City Council that student drinking at Nordhoff has increased dramatically. In an interview, Lt. Ken Kipp, Ojai’s police chief, said parents and teachers have told him that there is widespread drinking in campus restrooms and during student breaks, and that a student drinking club called Wet Thursday has been formed.

Kipp said there has been an increase in complaints about student drinking, reports of parents hosting student drinking parties at their homes and of groups congregating to drink at Wheeler Canyon and Lion’s campgrounds. Police have also cited three stores for allegedly selling alcohol to minors.

“Mixing kids and alcohol is a tragedy waiting to happen,” Kipp said.