Submitted photo Deputies and K-9 officers performed drug searches at four Upshur County schools Wednesday.

BUCKHANNON – Deputies performed drug searches at four Upshur County schools Wednesday, officials said.

Sheriff Mike Coffman and the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Upshur County Schools Director of Safety & Technology Matthew Sisk on Wednesday to conduct “coordinated, building-wide drug searches at four school sites across the district,” police said.

Deputies and K-9 units conducted searches at Buckhannon-Upshur High School, Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School, the Fred W. Eberle Technical Center, and the Upshur County Schools Alternative Learning Center.

The operation is part of routine prevention efforts designed to maintain drug-free schools and ensure safe learning environments for all students, according to a sheriff’s office press release.

“They [the searches] demonstrate our ongoing commitment to prevention, safety, and accountability,” Sisk said in the release. “Our goal is to ensure every student enters a building where they feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.”

In a joint statement, BUHS Principal Kathryn Woofter and BUMS Principal Samantha Leput highlighted the educational importance of keeping school campuses drug-free.

“Keeping drugs out of our schools is essential,” Woofter and Leput said in the release. “Our students deserve an environment where the focus remains on teaching and learning. When safety and well-being are protected, academic success

can thrive.”

Upshur County Schools also expressed “deep gratitude” for the multi-agency cooperation that made Wednesday’s operation possible in the press release. Superintendent of Schools Christy Miller and Sisk issued a joint statement acknowledging gratitude for the agencies involved.

“Superintendent Miller and Director Sisk are grateful to the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, Buckhannon

City Police Department, Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, Clarksburg Police Department, and Bridgeport

Police Department for their continued partnership and support,” the release states. “Their collaboration and work is a critical resource that is essential to helping us maintain safe, drug-free schools across our community.”