WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The West Seneca Central School District recently sent a letter to families of students at Winchester-Potters Elementary School to inform them a student brought THC-laced candy to school and offered it to classmates.
In the letter the district said:
"Earlier this week, a fifth-grade student brought THC-laced “candy” into the school and offered it to classmates. We became aware of this matter toward the end of the school day and immediately began investigations involving our school nurse and School Resource Officer.
The Crisis Team met to debrief the incident and make an action plan for the immediate future. As a District and Building team, we are planning proactive interventions and education to circumvent an issue of this nature in the future. This includes partnership with Kids Escaping Drugs and our SRO, Officer Rybak. In addition, we have reviewed our communication and emergency notification procedures.
We will continue to work with our School Resource Teams including our Social Workers, Counselors, and School Resource Officer to educate our students about this issue through programs such as our DARE partnership program and Community Circles."
The district also said it is planning an event with the school SRO and school social worker to have an open dialogue about concerns and questions with parents and guardians. A specific date and time will be announced at a later date.
A district spokesperson released the following statement to 7 News:
"The district communicated with parents regarding the presence of THC-laced candy in the school as facts unfolded. We will remain vigilant and increase our education efforts to both children and their families regarding the presence and storage of now legal THC candy in households and the community.
The prevalence of easily available and legal THC candy in the community means that the spillover to schools was inevitable, but it will not be tolerated. It is clearly not legal in the hands of minors or in our schools."
