Superintendent’s Message

Is Opioid Abuse a School Issue?

At the South Carolina School Boards Association conference I heard a presenter pose the question, “What does the opioid crisis look like?” We were given several pictures to allow us to make our own assumption of this crisis. Do we think of needles, drug addictions, withdrawal, fatalities, or homeless people? Do we need to add schools to that line of thought?

Darra Coleman, Chief Advice Counsel for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation shared data that made me wonder how schools could not be affected.  Across the United States, over 72,000 opioid related overdoses took place in 2017. Closer to home in South Carolina, one out of every four teens have misused or abused prescription drugs at least once. In addition, 300,000,000 opioid pills were dispersed in 2017. Where are those pills going and to whom? From 2007-2014, 1341 pharmacy robberies took place in South Carolina, the most in the entire country. Four out of five heroin users started their drug use with prescription painkillers. Just as concerning is that 70% of users admit getting opioids from friends and family members, not drug dealers. So, are opioids an issue in our public schools?  Although we don’t appear to be having a major problem in Anderson School District Two, are we prepared based on the numbers listed above?

I doubt seriously any community in South Carolina is immune to this crisis. We ask that our parents continue to help us to not only recognize the abuses but to also partner with us in providing the best education to assist our students in steering clear of this massive epidemic.

Dr. Richard Rosenberger

Mission & Vision