Because of an increase in marijuana use on and off campus, the administration has decided to bring in dogs that are trained to sniff out illicit drugs.

It is expected that by the end of this school year that the school, in conjunction with the Danbury Police Department, will employ the trained dogs to ferret out any illegal substances in possession of students.

Principal Gary Bocaccio said with legal marijuana sales and use in many states (it remains illegal in Connecticut except when prescribed by a physician for pain relief), students have become more relaxed about possession and use on and off campus.

“People now think, ‘It’s not a big deal,’ when it really is,” Bocaccio said. “It is of great concern to us.”

Many surrounding districts, including Newtown, use trained dogs to sniff out drugs on campus — in the parking lots and inside the buildings, but not individuals.

“Most of the other communities do it pretty regularly,” Bocaccio said. In addition to Newtown, where four students were disciplined last year after police conducted a dog-led search, Brookfield and New Fairfield regularly use the method. Bocaccio said those districts report that the method is effective.

The way administration is leaning toward organizing these searches is that it will initiate a “lock-in,” where all students are to remain in classrooms and out of the halls while the dogs search lockers, the remainder of the building, and the parking lots.

“I think it’s an invasion of people’s privacy,” says Paulina Rosetti, sophomore. “I don’t think people’s personal belongings should be checked.”

The goal overall is to get one day to organize this test search and let everyone know that it will happen, but not necessarily when.

Bocaccio says, “I would certainly let students know that it was coming, I wouldn’t tell them when or what time, but I will let them know that we plan on doing it.”

Many students share mixed feelings on bringing the dogs in, mostly touching on the student body’s privacy.

Others may be looking forward to the implementation of this practice to ensure the safety of all students.

“I think it’s a good thing, especially with all the incidents that have been happening at the school recently,” says Jake McNamara, sophomore. “I think it’s a good thing to have extra protection and security in the school.”

Leo Abreu, senior, says, “I think this is a diligent way to make sure we keep drugs out of the school and maybe raise awareness of the rising drug problems.”

A robo-call would also be directed to parents and guardians, informing them of the searches.

Using the dogs will not cost the district. The Danbury Police Department has a trained dog, and other communities have dogs that would be used. However, it is not so easy to pull off because they’d have to coordinate the dogs and their trainers at the same time to come together.

“Where most schools would need four or five dogs, we were told we’d need between 12 and 15 because of our size,” Bocaccio said. “We’d have to contact Monroe and Trumbull and New Fairfield to all come together on a given date.”

Administration is looking to have the first test toward the end of the year, in April or May, due to coordination and booking schedules that are normally done a month or two in advance.

If the search is effective, then it would be up to Dan Donovan to determine whether to continue them next year, when he will take over the principal’s position.