Rockville students to be checked for alcohol at playoff game

‘‘I have confirmed what I have suspected has been occurring at our football games this fall,” Munk reported. ‘‘A significant number of students are coming to the game with concealed alcohol and consuming it during the game.”

She said she is disappointed in the students ‘‘who had done this.” Munk said that if students are caught with alcohol or already have consumed alcohol, they will be subjected to a Breathalyzer test by police and ‘‘arrested if even the smallest trace of alcohol is found, and disciplined to the fullest extent by the school.”

This morning, Munk said Clarksburg High School Principal James P. Koutsos, whose school is hosting the football game, agreed to Rockville students being checked.

‘‘He’s fine with it,” she said, adding that Clarksburg High’s policy does not allow students to bring in backpacks. However, personal items, such as purses, are allowed.

When Clarksburg and Rockville students get to the stadium gates, they will pay for their tickets and then be split into their respective school seating areas, Munk said. Right before Rockville High students are allowed into the stands, students would be checked, she said.

‘‘We’re going to adopt some of [Koutsos’s] procedures in the future, like keeping backpacks out of games,” she said.

In a telephone interview Thursday afternoon, Munk said that during two previous football games, she noticed some students’ odd behavior.

At last Friday’s game at James Hubert Blake High School, she said she saw that many students had left during the third quarter, but attributed their early absence to the evening’s rainy weather. After receiving some tips this week, Munk said she learned that some of the students had left because they were ‘‘inebriated.”

‘‘I shudder to think what they did after that game and I shudder to think how they drove home in that rain,” she said.

‘‘I’m just glad no one got hurt,” Munk said.

She said she felt faced with a ‘‘tough decision.” Munk said she could have set up a ‘‘sting-type” operation at tonight’s game and let students get arrested and suspended, or she could be proactive and address the problem ‘‘head on.”

‘‘Ultimately, I felt it was better to be proactive and let the kids know I was on to them,” she said.

Students’ reaction, Munk said, was one of shock.

‘‘They were really surprised because we’d kept this quiet all week,” she said.

After the announcement was made and the message went out over the listserv, Munk said several parents sent her e-mails.

‘‘They thanked me for taking a stand,” she said, noting that some of the parents had heard from their children that students had been drinking.

‘‘But my question to parents is this: Why didn’t you let me know,” Munk added.

She said she has received nothing but support and noted that 60 students attend the school’s first Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) meeting Thursday afternoon. The meeting had been planned before Munk’s announcement.

Munk’s announcement comes about a year after a former Rockville High student was killed in an alcohol-related collision. She said the former student had dropped out of the school in 2005 and his funeral was attended by many Rockville High students.

Then in the spring, 26 Rockville High School students were caught skipping school to attend a party at the home of two classmates, resulting in 21 citations for alcohol consumption as well as citations for possession and distribution.

After the April 18 incident, each of the 26 students was suspended, but allowed to return to class the following week.

A few weeks later in May, several Rockville students participated in a two-day awareness program called ‘‘Every 15 Minutes,” where high school students got the opportunity to witness what can happen when students drink and drive. The program simulated a drunk-driving collision on the front lawn of the school and involved students who pretended to be injured or dead as a result of the crash.

‘‘I’m very sad about this,” Munk said Thursday after making the announcement. ‘‘For some reason, we haven’t been able to break the teen group-think that you need to be drinking or doing drugs to have fun. But we’re not going to give up.”

Rockville High PTSA President Stan Thomas said Thursday that he fully supports Munk’s decision to check students for alcohol containers and consumption.

‘‘I felt she took the right position in what she’s doing,” he said. ‘‘And anyone who tries to get drugs or alcohol into the Clarksburg game will be dealt with swiftly from both a legal standpoint and with the school. Everyone has been warned and there won’t be any exceptions.”

County school system officials could not be reached for comment.