School administrators have written a draft of a new tobacco policy that would ban smoking within 300 yards of the high school. They passed up the May town meeting that was their original target for presenting a final proposal and are now working on completing it for submission to next November’s town meeting.

According to Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention Coordinator Mary Minott, the chair of the Tobacco Policy Committee, the specific landmarks that form the boundary from which the 300 yards would extend have yet to be determined.

“That’s open to interpretation, because is it from the edge of the UA Building 300 yards out? Is it from a center point on the field? Or is it from the front door?” she said.

However, she also said that any possible delineation of the school boundary would push the no-smoking zone past Cypress Street.

Anyone found in violation of the policy would first be given a written warning with their name kept in a log by school security. Second, third and fourth offenses would result in $50, $100 and $200 fines, respectively.

The fines could be waived if the violator completes a smoking cessation program and submits the proper documentation of it to the town’s health department.

Students caught smoking within the zone would have their administrator, usually a dean, notified, as well as their parents or guardians. Students would also automatically be referred to the Brookline Substance Abuse Prevention program at the high school.

If they complete the program or do the community service run by BSAP, their fine would also be waived.

According to Minott, the proposal was not ready for the spring town meeting because there was a lot on the administrators’ agenda, including the creation of the new technology policy. Minott said she wants to collect more input from administrators for fine-tuning of the draft before it is considered for approval.

However, the passage of a school rule and the enactment of a town bylaw are separate processes, she said, so students could encounter a new policy next fall even before town meeting would have the chance to take up the issue in November.

“I’m not sure whether the school would go ahead and change their rule for the fall before town meeting or not,” she said. “I think the headmaster could do that if she wanted to just change the rule of the high school.”

After several attempts, Headmaster Deborah Holman was not available for an interview.

Since fall, more administrators have been brought into discussions of the policy in the Tobacco Policy Committee.

Associate Dean Anthony Meyer, who has participated in many of the meetings, said that he believes smokers would initially travel the distance to follow the policy instead of ignoring it even if it means missing class time.

“I hope the key question is ‘Is it important enough for me to smoke this cigarette that I’m going to walk 300 yards from school and risk potentially being late to class, or miss a class in order to enjoy this cigarette?’” he said. “I think that that’s a good process for them to go through.”

Meyer said he thinks that, over time, fewer students would make the effort to go out and smoke, and thus more would quit. He also said that he hopes current smokers are involved in the process of creating the new policy so that they feel their perspectives are valued.

“We understand that part of this message feels as though you’re being pushed away,” he said. “But it’s out of caring and a desire to have you in class and not smoking at all. And we think that we’re better to help you make that decision than you might be when you’re 16, 17 or 18.”

Aaron Sege can be contacted at [email protected].