HACKETTSTOWN_HIGH

There was a drug sweep today at Hackettstown High School.

(Express-Times File Photo)

, during which students stayed at their desks at

, turned up nothing, district Superintendent

said this afternoon.

"It was a positive, excellent thing," he said.

That doesn't mean Hackettstown students aren't using drugs, Mango said, adding that he doesn't subscribe to "the ostrich syndrome," where administrators bury their heads to the problem.

Working with the

and using K-9 teams and personnel from police departments in Hackettstown, Independence Township, Washington Township, Morris County, and South Plainfield, N.J., the school was searched while students remained at their desks from 8:30 until about 11 a.m., when the operation was cleared, he said.

It's the second year in a row that a random search was performed, Mango said, and officials are still working out kinks in the effort. The student handbook, he said, allows for such searches, he said.

Last year, the unannounced sweep ended in charges being filed against one juvenile, said Hackettstown police Sgt. Darren Tynan. He called today's efforts a success and said he was pleased no drugs were discovered.

"We look at it as a good deterrent and, hopefully, kids will think twice if they are thinking about bringing drugs into school," he said. "I think it's a positive thing and it's a positive thing that no drugs were located."

Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke, who also declared the sweep a success, said the benefits of the sweep were two-fold.

"It sends the message that drugs won't be tolerated in our school," he said. "The second part is it sounds like kids are getting that message because we didn't find anything today."

Organizing such an effort, however, is no easy task, the prosecutor said. Cooperation is required from various departments, since authorities need to have the personnel and canines to execute the search.

"It takes a lot of coordination to do these sorts of things," Burke said.

On the district's end, the operation was difficult to set up this year because of the long winter, various exam schedules and the upcoming graduation, Mango said.

"Unfortunately, drug use can hit anyone at any time," he said. "It's better to get out in front of issues."

The district uses the searches along with educational programs and "partnering with parents," Mango said.

And "you have to deal with problems as they arise," not only confront them with searches or other police activity, he said.

The town police department works with the schools, providing walk-throughs as well as other police partnerships, such as the D.A.R.E program, he said. Police are not regularly stationed in the schools, Mango said.

The district, which has to advise the prosecutor's office in writing when it wants to do a sweep, has developed "a very positive relationship" with police and prosecutors in its efforts to lessen the impact of drugs in town schools, Mango said.

While Hackettstown is the only district, to date, that has participated in the sweeps, Burke said his office offers the opportunity to other schools in the county provided authorities can coordinate with personnel for the effort.

Reporter Matthew Bultman contributed to this report.