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Court: District had power to boot student president Phoenix-Talent hasn�t decided whether to remove Ferguson for drug offense By Chris Bristol SALEM � The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that school officials had the authority all along to depose the student body president of Phoenix High School for violating the school�s strict drug policy. Educators around the state have watched the case closely. The ruling reversed a decision by Jackson County Circuit Judge Phil Arnold, who reinstated Keanon Ferguson in October after school officials stripped him of his title for being caught with marijuana on campus. Arnold reinstated Ferguson on the grounds that, absent specific rules allowing it, school officials had no authority to treat him differently because of his position and punish him beyond the school�s standard five-day suspension for drugs. The appeals court disagreed, saying that even though Oregon law requires "consistent and fair" rules in schools, educators have "some residual authority" and aren�t required to make an "exhaustive listing" of every possible form of student misconduct. Reacting to news of the ruling, Phoenix-Talent schools Superintendent Dave Willard said he felt relieved rather than victorious, and he repeated his belief that Arnold�s decision "tremendously undermined" the disciplinary power that school officials have traditionally enjoyed. "This ruling reinstates that power to the schools," he said. "It�s not that I�m looking for power, it�s just that we have to have the ability to operate things." As for Ferguson�s immediate future, Willard said the decision whether to again remove him from office has not been made. The Phoenix-Talent school board is expected to discuss the issue tonight during its regularly scheduled monthly meeting. "What this says is that we have the authority to do what we did in the first place," Willard said. "Given that we�re more than halfway through the school year and that there haven�t been ongoing problems ... we will not automatically remove him from his position." Ferguson, 17, said he doesn�t think school officials will punish him twice for the same thing. "They don�t care if I�m kicked out of office or not," he said Wednesday night, "they just want everybody to know they were right in the first place." The case began in June when a Phoenix police officer, assigned as campus security, found Ferguson on campus with about a quarter-ounce of marijuana and a glass pipe. Other drug paraphernalia was found in his car. At the time, Ferguson was student body president-elect. Over the summer, school administrators decided to strip Ferguson of his title. The school board concurred. Ferguson�s father, retired attorney Bill Ferguson, then sued. After Arnold ordered Ferguson�s reinstatement, the school district appealed. In the meantime, a student-led recall failed. School officials had expressed mixed feelings about the recall effort, since a successful recall would have rendered the district�s appeal moot. In a six-page opinion, Chief Judge Mary J. Deits said state law requires rules about student conduct that bear "some reasonable connection" with the educational mission of a school. Noting that a 1973 decision by the Court of Appeals bars schools from punishing male students for having long hair, Deits concluded that deposing Ferguson for violating the school�s drug policy was "fundamentally different." The ruling also said Ferguson�s position as student body president was part of the curriculum, because student leaders have to attend a leadership class, not an extra-curricular activity such as varsity sports. As a result, rules that suspended students only from extracurricular activities did not apply. Phoenix High School student Jennifer Hollander, a senior who helped organize the recall effort, said she was pleased with the latest court ruling, partly because publicity over the incident made her and her classmates "look stupid." A member of the campus group Kids Against Substance Abuse, she said elected officials, even student body presidents, enjoy an important position of respect and honor that carries with it certain consequences. "He chose to take on that responsibility," she said. "It�s just like the president of the country. It�s the same thing. They should be held to a higher standard." But Ferguson said the decision to strip him of his title was overly harsh and thwarted the wishes of his fellow students. He pointed out that they essentially elected him twice, because he survived the recall. "It was my fault for bringing it to school. Nobody forced me to, and that was my mistake," he said. "But I do still feel that I should have been president, because I was picked by the students and not by the administration." The lawsuit was the second high-profile challenge of the school�s drug policy, both involving the Fergusons. In 1998, after the school threatened to suspend 31 students from sports for attending a rowdy party at the Ferguson home in which a freshman had to be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, angry parents forced administrators to reduce the punishment to community service. Reach reporter Chris Bristol at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.