School Principal Won't Lose Job After Getting Busted For Pot

[matcom]

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For nearly two decades the Vernonia School District has been at the forefront of fighting student drug use, even taking its mandatory drug-testing policy of athletes to the U.S. Supreme Court -- and winning.

But a 41-year-old Vernonia elementary principal will keep his job, even after getting cited at Fort Stevens State Park last week for possession of marijuana.

Vernonia Superintendent Kenneth Cox said Tuesday that Aaron Miller has his "full support" and will stay on as principal of Washington Grade School and Mist Elementary School after telling a Clatsop County sheriff's deputy that he'd been smoking pot.

"It was an unfortunate mistake and a poor choice to make," Cox said. "But I've had a meeting with Mr. Miller, and he's planning on making things better, making things right."

Miller, who lives in Vernonia, said his attorney advised him not to comment on the case. "I will be speaking publicly on this issue in the future," he said.

The Vernonia district started mandatory testing of its athletes in 1989; students with drugs in their system couldn't play. School officials said they wanted to stem a growing drug problem.

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