School board member wants messaging on Fentanyl

Clay County School Board Member Ashley Gilhousen said the district should emphasize the dangers of Fentanyl during the upcoming Red Ribbon Week in October.

Superintendent David Broskie told board members during a Sept. 27 workshop that the theme of the Oct. 23 through 31 school events will be “Celebrate Life. Live Drug-Free.”

“Of course, the drug-free message should be shouted from the hilltops to our students,” the superintendent told board members.

Gilhousen noted that images from a recent Clay County Sheriff’s Office drug seizure showed what appeared to be Fentanyl packaged in candy-like treats.

“The Fentanyl that I saw in the photograph looks like candy,” she told her colleagues. “It’s very concerning.”

Board Chair Mary Bolla added that the candy-like opioid resembled sweet tarts.

Broskie assured board members that Red Ribbon Week events would educate students on the dangers of the drug.

“It’s important to know that just a very small amount…is enough to kill somebody,” he said.

Gilhosen said that the district, in addition to law enforcement, should try to reach beyond students with their messaging and communicate with parents about the dangers of fentanyl.