WESTFALL TOWNSHIP - A letter sent home by high school nurse Ellen Orben recently, told parents that the school was notified about a student testing positive for the HIV virus. The student is unknown to the school because of HEPA regulations and confidentiality laws.

Because of this, Superintendent Dr. Candis Finan informed the board that the health curriculum will be revised and updated this summer. Staff members will be retrained in handling bodily fluids as they once were years ago.

Dr. Finan said that the school district needs to work with the PTAs, get speakers on the subject for them, use the specialists available to the district, and use the school nurses to help with any concerns students and parents may have.

Another concern voiced in the letter was the number of cases of sexually transmitted infections in the district. Dr. Finan said that the core of the health curriculum is abstinence to prevent these diseases. The letter mentioned a number of students possibly infected that some of the administration did not agree with. Another concern was the number of pregnant students in the district. It is believed that 25-30 students are presently pregnant. Again, this number appears to be disputed by the district.

The newly formed Pike County Youth Coalition is weighing in. 

"The increased rate of STI's and teen pregnancy in the DVSD, while alarming, indicates what most students already were familiar with as the lack, and even complete absence, of comprehensive and effective sex education”, said PCYC, in a statement released Wednesday.   “It is our belief that this problem is also facilitated, if not caused, by societal factors, such as the local dearth of alternative enjoyable youth activities and the increasingly widespread acceptance of teenage sexual activity, especially in the mainstream media.

The coalition says the front line defense against inappropriate sexual activity must be with the parents, but, their statement claims, “… the community as a whole must work to support that guidance, through providing, among other things, enjoyable youth recreation and honest and practical education."