ANTIGO DRUG PROBE SHOULD CONCERN ALL OF US

We are shocked by the information contained in preliminary court
documents about teachers and other school personnel allegedly
involved in illegal drug activity in the Antigo and Merrill schools.

More accusations concerning use and sale of marijuana and cocaine are
likely to emerge in the ongoing probe.

But why should we care? This is happening far to our north and has
nothing to do with us, right?

Wrong.

It is a major deal when those in positions of public trust,
particularly those charged with educating our children, violate that
trust and engage in illegal activity.

It's a big deal anywhere it happens and raises our antennae to be
continually alert on our own turf.

A varsity football coach in Antigo, who doubles as an elementary
school principal, is among those at the center of the investigation.
Also named thus far are a former athletic director and two other
school employees.

Those involved -- and more charges are expected -- reportedly sold
and used drugs at a secluded golf resort north of Antigo. The only
good news to come out of the entire fiasco to this point is that --
apparently -- no students were involved in the drug transactions.

But students certainly will be affected by all of this. They will be
left wondering if they can trust adults and the mixed messages they
apparently send. They might think it's OK to use drugs; after all,
their teachers and coaches do it.

All of us should be concerned when these are the lessons students
learn at any school in Wisconsin. We don't disparage the Antigo and
Merrill school systems, where the alleged perpetrators practiced, but
it will prove difficult for those districts to recover reputations
tarnished by the actions of a few wayward individuals.

We hope they are able to move forward during the investigation and
continue to educate students to the positive standards the vast
majority of teachers, parents and students expect and desire.