Prosser schools nix pot farmer’s $14,000 gift
School officials this week flatly turned down a $14,000 donation from a local marijuana farmer, taking a strong stand against youth marijuana use.
“We’re not taking it, end of story,” said Ray Tolcacher, Prosser School District superintendent.
The donor, Randy Williams, is looking for another local recipient.
“I never thought it’d be a problem to give money away,” said the owner of Fireweed Farms, a marijuana producer north of the city of 5,800.
Williams’ next choice is the Prosser branch of the Boys & Girls Club. The youth nonprofit will “evaluate internally,” said Brian Ace, executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties.
Next in line is the VFW, Williams said.
Williams, one of the few licensed Yakima Valley growers, promised at a first-ever marijuana auction Nov. 15 at his farm to donate the proceeds of one low-grade lot to local schools. The stash sold for about $13,500; he kicked in the remainder to make it an even $14,000.
After reading media coverage of the auction, which mentioned the school donation, school officials discussed the proposed donation last week and decided not to accept it. They want to send a clear message to students, Tolcacher said.
“We’ve been pretty vocal about our concern over this,” Tolcacher said.
The school board must approve all donations of more than $500.
Tolcacher is one of Prosser’s staunchest opponents of recreational marijuana, repeatedly speaking against the city’s decision to permit Altitude, a pot retail store in town. Most surrounding cities ban pot, including the Tri-Cities.
Tolcacher said he recently told Randy Dorn, state superintendent of public instruction, that school officials throughout the state are catching more kids with marijuana since its legalization with passage in November 2012 of Initiative 502. He plans to relay his anecdotal evidence to the Liquor Control Board, the state agency charged with regulating recreational marijuana.
Pot remains illegal for those younger than 21, just like alcohol.
Williams visited the school district office to make the donation last week. Tolcacher, who was out at the time, broke the news to the would-be donor over the phone Monday.
“That’s a mistake on their end because they’re not helping anything,” Williams said.
This isn’t the district’s first brush with controversy related to concerns about giving mixed messages to students. For years, a handful of citizens criticized the school district’s longtime agreement to play host to the Prosser Wine & Food Fair at the high school’s Art Fiker Stadium.
The annual wine-tasting and food-sampling festival is a popular regional event that was held at Prosser High’s football stadium for 26 of the event’s 33 years. It now is held at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser.
The district in 2009 decided that holding an alcohol-related event on district property sent a mixed message about alcohol use to students, according to Tri-City Herald archives.
This story was originally published November 25, 2014 at 4:29 PM.