Students Sent Home From Trip For Alcohol

BROOKSVILLE - As many as 14 Hernando High School seniors were sent home Saturday for possession of alcohol during an annual class trip to Orlando theme parks.
About 100 students attended the annual weekend trip known as Grad Bash, in which students travel to Orlando by bus for the weekend. Paid for through fundraising efforts by students, their itinerary called for a two-night hotel stay and a jam-packed weekend of theme parks: Universal Studios on Friday evening, Wet n' Wild on Saturday, Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom on Saturday night and Epcot on Sunday.
But after two students were sent home Saturday morning for leaving their rooms early, officials searched the remainder of students' rooms and found alcohol, some of which was hard liquor, students on the trip told Hernando Today.
Those who brought it were sent home that evening, and their parents had to come pick them up, the students said.
Superintendent Wayne Alexander confirmed that students were caught with alcohol and sent home, but said he was waiting for the school to complete its reports about the incident to learn details.
He directed all inquiries to Principal Betty Harper, whose secretary said she did not have time to talk to media Tuesday.
Assistant principal Diane Saltsman acknowledged the incident, but said she could not comment on specifics without permission from Harper.
"Anywhere across the county, any student that is ever sent home from a function means they did not adhere to either one or the other: the school board's policies and procedures, the event's policies and procedures, or both," she said.
Aside from being sent home, the students' punishment was not clear. Most were in school Monday and Tuesday, though two were thought to have been suspended, students said.
The school's incoming principal, Ken Pritz, could not be reached for comment about how the incident will affect future Grad Bash trips or policy.