Five Chattanooga Center for the Creative Arts students have been suspended after two separate incidents of drugs on campus.
Earlier this week, a male student brought hydrocodone to school and either was asked or offered to give the medicine -- used for moderate pain or as a cough suppressant -- to a female student, said Hamilton County Deputy Superintendent Rick Smith.
The female student took three of the pills, then gave them to two of her friends, Mr. Smith said.
The students are not being identified because they are minors, he said.
Later in the week, the same male student had marijuana and gave it to the same female friend, Mr. Smith said.
Principal Debbie Smith received a phone call from one of the students' parents and started to investigate.
Officials also learned that a fifth student who was not involved in the earlier transactions had marijuana, Mr. Smith said.
Pending a hearing, the students were suspended for a year as spelled out in the district's zero-tolerance policy. Mr. Smith said he expected all student to appeal.
"It's the first problem like this that I know of from CCA this year," Mr. Smith said.
Chattanooga police are conducting an investigation at the school and had not made any arrests as of Friday afternoon, spokeswoman Lt. Kim Noorbergen said. Officers are looking for evidence that would indicate drug use, she said.
Kelli Gauthier covers K-12 education in Hamilton County for the Times Free Press. She started at the paper as an intern in 2006, crisscrossing the region writing feature stories from Pikeville, Tenn., to Lafayette, Ga. She also covered crime and courts before taking over the education beat in 2007. A native of Frederick, Md., Kelli came south to attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. Before newspapers, ...
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