In the past few months, the

Fayette County School System has caught several students sharing prescription

medication with others and attempting to pass counterfeit money to pay

for book fines and meals in the cafeteria.

This information has been released

in the hopes that parents will develop a dialogue with their children

to remind them of the serious consequences of such actions, said Wayne

Robinson, director of secondary school operations for Fayette County schools.

"If we can get some help from

the parents at home, that would be great," Robinson said.

In each of these cases, the

students were automatically suspended from school for 10 days before facing

a disciplinary tribunal to determine if they should be permanently expelled

from school or face another punishment, Robinson said. The matters also

were referred to law enforcement authorities for possible prosecution,

he added.

Although the incidents have

previously been isolated, there have been several in a row in the past

few months, he explained.

"Transmitting a controlled

substance is a violation of the student code of conduct and state law,"

Robinson said.

School officials believe the

drugs were being used by students to get high. According to information

released from the school system, the two main drugs abused in this manner

are Ritalin and Adderal.

"We are making sure they are

taking the medicine they're supposed to and not selling it or transmitting

it to other students," Robinson said.

The drug abuse cases were reported

at Rising Starr Middle School, Starrs Mill High School and Fayette County

High School, Robinson recalled.

The counterfeit money cases

involved $20 bills that were passed at the lunchroom and the media center

at Flat Rock Middle School and Fayette County High School. A cafeteria

worker first recognized the funny money and reported it to administrators,

Robinson said.

In the incident at Flat Rock,

seven students were implicated in the transaction, and the matter is being

investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, Robinson added.

The students claimed that they

found the counterfeit bills lying on the street, but that story hasn't

been confirmed, Robinson said.

"The students need to understand

the severity of this: it's a federal offense," Robinson said.