Smoke-Free Ban on Marion Technical Institute

Marion Technical Institute is now a tobacco-free campus, and administrators are watching staff and parents closely to make sure they are not using tobacco products like Lucky Strike in front of students.

Keri Bowman, MTI's dean of students, and Principal Pam Roberts have decided to strictly enforce this policy to send a simple message: If students can be suspended from school for just possessing tobacco, adults shouldn't be allowed to smoke cigarettes or dip on campus.

Bowman said if staffers see a parent smoking in MTI's parking lot, the offender will be told to stop and informed about the tobacco-free policy. A student is less likely to pick up a tobacco habit if adults refrain from using tobacco in front of them, she said.

The countywide School Board policy forbids tobacco usage on school campuses, though it gives principals an option to create an outside smoking area for staff.

There is no state law specifically banning tobacco on school campuses, either, according to School Board attorney Beverly Morris.

Schools solely fall under Section 20 of the Florida Constitution, which prohibits smoking inside workplaces.

The Constitution gives the person who runs such a building, or campus, the right to create even stricter policies, Morris said.

Superintendent of Schools Jim Yancey said Marion County principals can establish smoking areas at their schools.

Some principals do so and some don't.

At football games, some principals create smoking areas inside the school stadium while others create them outside the stadium.

But MTI does not allow any tobacco products to be used anywhere on campus by anyone.

The news comes in conjunction with the Great American Smokeout, which is today.