Rampant cannabis use is clouding the curriculum at embattled Forest Hills High School, parents fumed at a raucous Tuesday night meeting at the Queens school.
Aiming their ire at principal Ben Sherman, moms and dads said kids are confronted with constant pot puffing at the high-achieving school – and that administrators aren’t doing nearly enough.
“My son’s a freshman in the school this year,” one irate father told Sherman and several Department of Education administrators. “Since he came to the school his asthma increased 10 times. And it’s from the smoke in the hallways…So if you can’t take care of it then get someone else here who can do it!”
A mom in the crowd of roughly 50 said illicit inhalation has become common in school stairwells and bathrooms, according to her son.
“I have come here at 9 a.m. to meet with someone I respected at the school and there are kids standing on the street corner in broad daylight smoking pot,” she said. “This is not normal.”
While academically vaunted, the school of nearly 4,000 students has been rocked in recent months by complaints from teachers, kids and parents over rampant weed use — which was first reported by The Post.
In a rare move, teachers issued a resounding no-confidence vote in Sherman.
Hoping to quell the insurrection, the DOE assigned Queens South Superintendent Andre Spencer to probe the school’s practices.
The former Houston administrator conducted Tuesday’s meeting and served as a bureaucratic buffer for Sherman in the face of parental anger.
Spencer calmly fielded most of the posed questions Tuesday while Sherman looked on.
“This is a safe school,” Spencer said. “This is a safe school. I have spent several days at this school over the past week…Are there some challenges? Yes there are some challenges. Are we addressing those challenges? Yes we are addressing those challenges.”
Spencer said the overflowing school of 3,800 would hire two new school safety agents and that additional staff would be brought on to help monitor student conduct.
The DOE also assigned administrator Sean Davenport to serve as a supervising superintendent at the school during its rehabilitation.
Spencer insisted Tuesday that marijuana incidents are addressed — and that a task force would ensure that the school complies with DOE disciplinary codes.
But under a new system, kids caught with small amounts of pot are issued largely toothless warning cards to avoid contact with law enforcement.
While most parents focused their displeasure on Sherman, some in the crowd urged greater parental vigilance and less dependence on school staff.
“It’s our job as parents to check out kids’ bags,” said one mom. “We can’t trust these kids. These are teenagers. They are going to lie to us. That’s what they do.”
Another parent agreed, saying that the school’s academic metrics remained robust and that moms and dads had to shoulder more responsibility. “Where are the parents?” she asked.
Other parents complained that administrators have left entries and exits unguarded and that kids from other schools roam the hallways at their leisure.
Sherman spoke sparingly but tried to reassure parents that their interests were aligned and that he would do more to crack down on corridor chaos.
Founded in 1937, Forest Hills boasts a long list of notable graduates – from former US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Low to former talk show host Jerry Springer.