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Dad insists school overpunished son Marijuana in car cost student office By Chris Bristol A Jackson County judge will hear arguments next week in a lawsuit brought by the father of a Phoenix High School student who was stripped of his title � student body president � for bringing marijuana to school. William H. Ferguson sued the Phoenix school district last week, alleging his son, Keanon, was punished more severely than allowed by school policy and state law. Ferguson, a part-time attorney, asked the court for an injunction restoring his son�s title. Judge Phil Arnold set a hearing Monday for oral arguments, declining in the meantime to issue a temporary restraining order against the school district. Phoenix school Superintendent Dave Willard said Thursday it would be unwise for him to comment on the case until after the matter is resolved. "Needless to say we disagree" with Bill Ferguson�s interpretation of school policy, Willard said, "but I think it�s best at this point to let the judge do his thing and not muddy the waters." The case recalls an off-campus party two years ago in which 31 Phoenix High students were initially threatened with suspension from athletics for violating the school�s tough new drug policy. One boy, a freshman, had to be taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. The school eventually relented under pressure from angry parents and reduced the punishments to community service. The party was staged at the Fergusons� home on Pioneer Road, located just outside Medford in the Griffin Creek area. In the current case, 17-year-old Keanon Ferguson was found to have a small amount of marijuana in his car parked on the campus on June 12, the final week of the 1999-2000 school year. The lawsuit does not explain how the discovery was made; Willard refused to discuss it too. At the time, Keanon Ferguson was student body president-elect. School officials initially suspended him for five days � the standard punishment as prescribed by school drug policy for a first-time offender. The youth also was supposed to miss one of his first functions this year as student body president. As part of the school�s policy, he also was cited to appear in juvenile court, required to attend drug-counseling classes and forced to submit to random drug tests. But by August, according to the lawsuit, school officials had decided on a more drastic course of action: removing the senior-to-be from office. The school board affirmed the administration�s decision. The father�s lawsuit, filed by Ashland attorney Tom Howser,accuses the school district of violating its own drug policy for first-time offenders and students who participate in extra-curricular activities. The suit also claims the district violated the high school constitution by removing Ferguson from office without a petition signed by 20 percent of the student body. It also alleges the sanction violates several state laws governing the rights of students. Howser was away from his office Thursday and could not be reached for comment. Bill Ferguson also could not be reached. In a brief interview Thursday, Willard said the lawsuit errs in its interpretation of "extracurricular activities" and that school officials have a broad right under the Phoenix High constitution to remove members of the student council. "Being a student body officer is not extracurricular," Willard argued. "It falls under our regular school drug policy and the (school) constitution, which says officers can be removed for anything detrimental to the school." Ferguson was replaced by Casey Stierle, the student body vice president, Willard said. The situation is not a secret to students and has been announced at several school events. Ferguson was also briefly suspended from the football team but continues to play, Willard said. He wouldn�t say if the youngster was among those ensnared in the party controversy two years ago. "No comment," he said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA