Smoking in the boys room....

Or to be more accurate, on the front lawn of the high school.    Over the last three days, I have dropped Alexandra off in the front of the school, and as we pulled away, I noticed that she had to walk through a cloud of smoke to get to her class.  To say that I was completely floored by this "smokers group" is putting it mildly.

I called the school, asking for an explanation, and I spoke to the VP, who was very nice about it.  He pretty much told me that there was nothing the school could do about it.  Despite the kids being on school property, the authorities took this stance:
    If the kids don't do it there, they go to the cemetery and the school gets calls.  If the kids are chased away from the cemetery, they will hang out in someone's yard, and the school gets calls.  So, even though it's illegal, school age children are allowed to smoke on that corner because it's easier all around. (yes, I paraphrased the conversation)

There aren't enough police in this town, that aren't busy sitting on corners waiting to catch someone going faster than 25 through the downtown area to bother with the underage smokers ON THE HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS.

And it's not as though the kids are even trying to hide it like they used to when I went to high school.  At my high school the smokers would at least make a pretense of hiding, posting a sentry and keeping Fre-breeze handy.  These kids don't care, and I believe that it's because they aren't being held accountable.

If the cemetery doesn't want smokers loitering on their grounds, CALL THE COPS.  Let the kids get in trouble.

If neighbors don't want smokers hanging out near their homes,  CALL THE COPS.  Let the kids get into trouble.

This state has a policy about truancy.  If your child has one unexcused absence, they are considered truant.  By the second one, you can bet they will be sending the police to your front door to find out where they are.  So why is the town being so lenient with underage smokers on public school grounds?

Apathy or just plain laziness?  It's time that we as parents start to take more of a role in the lives of the children around us, instead of expecting the schools to deal with it.  Because the truth is, it's not their job.  It's ours.