Logan joins class-action suit

The Logan Municipal Schools board last week unanimously voted to join in a class-action lawsuit against two e-cigarette-affiliated companies because of the costs and effects of underage use of those products.

The board took the action during its Oct. 11 meeting after a closed executive session to discuss possible litigation.

The lawsuit is against Juul Labs and Altria Group.

Superintendent Dennis Roch wrote in an email after the meeting the Logan district seeks “to recover both previous expenditures and prospective costs involved in preventing, responding to and counteracting the effects of underage use of vaping products sold by these two companies.”

According to one recent report, more than 450 school districts across the country have joined the federal lawsuit. Billions of dollars are potentially at stake.

If no settlement is reached, a trial is scheduled to begin in March.

In other business:

• In his facility update, Roch said two shade structures meant to facilitate outdoor teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic were ripped down by storms two days after they were installed.

Roch acknowledged the two structures were “stopgap” until more durable shade structures would be erected, possibly by spring.

• In his academic update, Roch said teacher Clay Lightfoot recently received two virtual-reality welding training boxes that allow students to practice their skills before advancing to actual welding situations. The district will use the boxes for two months before they’re moved to another school district.

Several instructors also will attend a weeklong construction trades academy in Albuquerque. Five students also were scheduled to take a drone-flying federal certification test.