Western accepts Juul settlement money

Mar. 24—RUSSIAVILLE — Western School Corporation's share of money from a class-action lawsuit settlement concerning the marketing of electronic cigarettes toward children will be used for educating students about the dangers of substance abuse.

The Western School Board formally accepted a settlement amount Tuesday. The amount was not disclosed. Superintendent Mark DuBois said the information was confidential.

DuBois gave an estimate of $40,000 to the Tribune in January, however no matter how much Western receives, some will be collected by attorneys.

What's left is up to the school district to use as it sees fit.

"My hope is that we can use it to educate our students (about) substance abuse, addiction," the superintendent said.

DuBois mentioned working with Western's Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group as one possible way to use the settlement money.

The money comes from a class-action lawsuit electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul settled in December, worth about $1.5 billion. The lawsuit accused Juul of using young models and fruity flavors to entice teenagers to use its vaping products.

Kokomo School Corporation and Northwestern School Corporation also joined the lawsuit. Both school districts accepted their share of settlement money earlier this year. Kokomo schools received $90,475 and Northwestern received $30,000.

Kokomo schools will put its money into an endowment for teacher grants. Northwestern plans to purchase vape detectors.

Western found success installing vape sensors, which detect smoke, humidity and noise, in restrooms last year. School officials noted a sharp decrease in vaping once the sensors were installed.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.