As students were going to class Tuesday at Marysville’s Early College High School, police were going to work.
The Marysville Division of Police conducted a planned drug search about 8 a.m. at the ECHS, also known as the district’s STEM school.
Officials said six police dogs were used to search the entirety of both the student and staff parking lots as well as many classrooms throughout the building.
Investigators found no drugs or anything else illegal.
“The canine alerted on three vehicles, but nothing was found,” said Tony Brooks, deputy chief of the Marysville Division of Police.
Ken Chaffin, ECHS principal, said that while the searches are planned ahead of time, only he and one other school official in the building are aware of the search ahead of time.
“Random, unannounced drug searches are one approach that can help us build an even stronger school culture,” Chaffin wrote in a statement about the search. “On top of the possibility of finding things that can potentially harm our students, there is also tremendous value in giving students additional reasons to make good, safe decisions.”
He said he hopes, “the potential of being caught” serves as another reason for students to make those choices if they need one.
“Safety is our first priority, and we believe that intentional efforts to reduce the possession and/or the use of drugs are important,” Chaffin wrote.
Brooks said they are also important for the public to know police and schools are working together.
“I think this is just another way we are out there, doing our due diligence to keep these drugs out of our schools, away from our kids as much as we can, keeping our community as safe as we can,” Brooks said.
Chaffin added that while he will “never announce in advance” when searches will be held, “please know that we plan to have additional canine drug searches in our building in the near future.”
The principal urged parents to use the search as, “an opportunity to talk with your student/s and reinforce with them the importance of making safe decisions.”