Folsom Cordova school board to vote on resolution recognizing the dangers of fentanyl

The Folsom Cordova Unified School District school board is expected to pass Thursday a resolution recognizing the dangers of fentanyl.

According to David Reid, the FCUSD board president, the board has been taking action by sending out educational emails, adding fentanyl awareness information to their website and hosting fentanyl awareness sessions for parents and students.

“This is an issue we’re very concerned about,” Reid said.

In the first seven months of 2022, a total of 50 people have died from fentanyl poisoning in Sacramento County, according to authorities. Last year, the synthetic opioid killed 116 people in the county.

Authorities have sounded the alarm in recent weeks about the dangers of so-called rainbow fentanyl, a version of the synthetic opioid that resembles colorful candy. According to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, the drug has been seen in the form of pills, powder and blocks that look like sidewalk chalk.

In December 2020, Rocklin high school student Zachary Didier, 17, died of fentanyl poisoning, which led to Didier’s parents giving a presentation a year later to the student government class at the Vista del Lago High School about the dangers of buying prescription pills illicitly, according to KCRA.

KCRA reported that Didier thought he was purchasing a Percocet from someone he met on Snapchat, but it was a fake pill that was instead made with a lethal dose of fentanyl.

That someone was Virgil Xavier Bordner, 22, who said he called Didier a good friend. Bordner was sentenced in September to 17 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and two counts of selling drugs to a minor, according to previous Bee reporting.

If the board does adopt the resolution, the district would recognize the dangers of fentanyl and “support the work at all levels” to protect the well-being of students. The resolution does not include any specific outlays for funding or resources, but directs the district to continue collaborating with the Sacramento County Office of Education to address the drug’s dangers through education and awareness campaigns.

“The board requested a resolution because we are very concerned about the fentanyl epidemic,” Reid said. “Part of the battle is bringing public awareness to the problem. The board is committed to finding ways that FCUSD can help stem the fentanyl tide.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 8:28 AM.