Condoms are no longer being sold at vending machines in Tri-City public high schools after School District 43 deleted a 23-year-old policy and had the old and often broken equipment removed.
Students who are sexually active can get condoms from their school counsellor, if need be, said assistant superintendent Rob Zambrano, a former high school principal, who said the vending machines weren't being used, sometimes weren't working and keeping them stocked posed a challenge.
"Now, a counsellor or a youth worker can have a discussion around good decision making that's really powerful," Zambrano said, noting that surveys have shown sexual activity among teens is dropping while those who are having sex are using protection.
Zambrano's comments reflect the latest teen health survey by the McCreary Centre Society, which showed that only 15% of Fraser North students indicated they were sexually active, lower than the provincial average, with 71% of sexually active teens reporting they or their partner used protection, and 67% stating they used condoms.
The condom machines were installed in the early 1990s after the school board approved a policy based on concerns that students were having unprotected sex and putting themselves at risk of contracting AIDS.
School curriculum now includes information about sexuality, relationships, decision-making and safety, Zambrano said, and there is more openness to discuss these issues today than there may have been more than two decades ago.
"It was an attempt to be helpful and it probably has been helpful," he said. "The key is now they feel comfortable in having those kinds of conversations."
Zambrano said most of the vending machines have been removed, although there may be one or two schools where they haven't yet been taken out.
Last Tuesday, the board of education heard that the condom vending machine policy had been deleted as part of an ongoing review and updating of school district policies. The board did not publicly debate or vote on deleting the policy.
