Hays CISD superintendent addresses fentanyl death

HAYS COUNTY — Following the death of a 15-year-old Lehman High School student that occurred on April 11, Hays CISD sent parents the following email from superintendent Dr. Eric Wright.

Dear Hays CISD Family,

This morning, the Hays County Sheriff’s Department announced what we had feared – that the death of one of our 15-year-old students in April is suspected to be from an accidental fentanyl overdose. Her death is the 6th student we have lost to fentanyl since last summer. Our hearts are broken.

Ongoing Education Efforts

As you know, the district has been engaged in educating students and families about the dangers of counterfeit pills that are in our area and that are made with illegal fentanyl. We believe the efforts continue to be an important component in combating this deadly threat.

Visit www.hayscisd.net/fentanyl for a complete look at our education efforts.

Pre-Summer Reminder Campaign

As we approach the summer, we are stepping up our educational efforts to remind students that the fentanyl danger is still very real in our area. We will be providing assemblies to all of our secondary students featuring one of our parents who lost her child – a Hays CISD student – to fentanyl last August.

Here’s the email we sent you earlier about this.

The Full Fight

In addition to our general education campaign, we have also engaged lawmakers and law enforcement agencies locally, and at the state and federal levels. We know it will take everyone working together with a comprehensive approach to fighting this enemy. We are advocating for additional law enforcement resources on the front-lines of the fight and additional resources for youth-centered treatment programs for teenagers who are experiencing full opioid addictions. Current treatment programs have been overwhelmed in recent years because of fentanyl.

We Will Continue to Speak

Fentanyl is happening everywhere and it is among the leading causes of death among youth in the United States. Early on in our experience with fentanyl, we made the decision to speak about it. Not talking about it doesn’t help solve the problem. We will continue to speak about this and do everything we can to fight it. Thank you for your continued support of the district and your help in this fight.

Sincerely,

Eric