BUNNELL -- Flagler County School Board members will consider throwing their support behind Palm Coast's proposed ban on the sale of products that imitate controlled substances, including K2, a synthetic marijuana product.
Board members may give the "formal recognition of the support of the Flagler County School Board for this ordinance and permission to reach out to all cities and municipalities with such support in an effort to make this ordinance for each city and the entire county as allowable by law," according to the agenda for Tuesday's workshop.
The board meets at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, and a regular meeting follow at 6 p.m.
The proposed Palm Coast ordinance would ban products that mimic controlled substances and could be easily placed into pipes, cigarette papers and other paraphernalia for smoking or inhaling. Council members intend to vote on the law in the next several weeks.
More teenagers are using synthetic marijuana, a director at Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavior Healthcare told The News-Journal for a story published last month. There are no age restrictions on the purchase of these products, and school staff say students are able to buy them, according to Katrina Townsend, the school district's director of student services.
"Unfortunately, we have seen some issues with this in the schools where kids are using these items," she said.
Three boys in the Community Problem Solvers program at Flagler Palm Coast High are tackling the issue and will speak to the Palm Coast City Council later this month, she said. Many students don't realize the products can cause health effects such as hallucination, disorientation and seizures.
"The synthetic products have a feeling for the kids that it's not really a drug, so it's OK," Townsend said.
The School Board will also consider a $450,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health that would pay for three years of abstinence education for the county's seventh-graders.
The Adult Identity Mentoring project requires students to explore their personal goals and interests, envision their future careers and learn decision-making skills.
A study found that students who completed the 12-session course were less likely to have had sex 19 weeks after starting the course, according to material included in the agenda packet.
In other business, the School Board will have its final hearing at 5:15 p.m. on the 2012- '13 property tax rate and budget. Flagler property owners can expect to pay $7.94 per $1,000 of taxable value, about 1 percent lower than last year's $8.03.
The new tax rate is also less than the rolled-back rate of $8.58, which would produce the same revenue as the current rate, using new assessments of the same properties.
This year, the owner of a $125,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $794.30 in school taxes if the tentative rate is adopted.
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