During a surprise search and lockdown at Columbia Borough Junior/Senior High School on Jan. 18, four K-9 dogs found only one tobacco violation.
Their cold noses had led them to 26 student lockers. School officials called those students from their classrooms to witness a search of their lockers, bags, coats and pockets.
But all they found was one cigar.
"We're really proud of that report," Principal Virginia Babic said after a school board meeting Thursday.
The K-9 squad - arranged by the Columbia Borough Police Department - visits the school once or twice a year.
Superintendent Barry Clippinger routinely asks the squad to visit, and only Babic knows when it's coming.
Clippinger said dogs are pulled from multiple police departments, and Babic said they've never found anything of great significance.
But 10 years ago, she said, it was worse: "We might have found a lot - like 10 cigarettes."
During a phone interview Friday, Clippinger said several factors probably contribute to the positive change.
One, he said, is that students are simply making better choices - particularly when it comes to using tobacco.
Clippinger credits much of that to a shift in societal perceptions of smoking, but he said the district does what it can to discourage harmful habits.
"We do a pretty good job of raising awareness for alcohol and drugs," he said.
But that doesn't mean students aren't smoking.
"It appears tobacco use has decreased, but it's still pretty prevalent in this area," Clippinger said. "We say, 'It's your choice to smoke, just don't do it on campus.' "
And students seem to respect that, he said.
"Sometimes I'll be driving to school and will see a student with a cigarette in their mouth, and they'll get rid of it before coming to campus," Clippinger said.
Naturally, students aren't always thrilled about the surprise K-9 visits. But the searches are effective, Clippinger said.
He said, "We do it for security and a way to practice lockdowns."
But more than that, Clippinger said, the searches drive home the idea that the district is serious about enforcing its policies.
"It's a deterrent to make sure they know we are concerned and are going to check on it," he said.
Copyright 2012 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
