CLEVELAND — Two separate incidents in one week at St. Jerome Catholic School on Lakeshore Boulevard led to two students' expulsion, according to a letter sent home to parents Thursday.
The first incident happened on Wednesday when a student brought gummy edibles to the school and passed them out to other students. While the letter did not say if any students got sick, the letter does state that the edibles were found to be laced with Fentanyl.
Some parents who spoke to News 5 outside the school Friday afternoon were shocked.
“When I heard it. It hurt my heart to hear something like that [happened] at an elementary school. It really bothered me to hear that a couple of students got rushed to the emergency room," said one parent who asked to remain anonymous. "And I was just wondering, like, how did they get a hold of that?"
“I found out last night, but I found out on Instagram. So it kind of scared me because people die from Fentanyl," said Akili Mustafa, the parent of a second grader at the school.
Mustafa said she loves St. Jerome Catholic School and believes they handled the situation. However, she hopes there is better communication with parents in the future.
Her son, Bryson, did not bring home a letter detailing the incidents.
"I assumed it was an older student, but I didn't know, because he didn't get a letter sent home," Mustafa said. "It's alarming, because they're kids, and, you know, all they see is candy. So when they see candy, they want some. It's very alarming, for sure.”
According to the letter, police are investigating the incident. The school also began searching the bags of seventh and eighth-grade students.
On Thursday, a student was found to have brought a Taser to school, but according to the release, the Taser was never brandished, and the co-principal stated that no threat was made.
According to the letter, that student is also no longer a St. Jerome student.
School officials asked parents to sit down and have a talk with their children about the dangers of drugs.
"That's the conversation that I do have to have with him,” Mustafa said.
The school plans to continue with book bag searches all next week.
