Manheim Township High School students apparently have cut back on partying, according to the results of a 2009 survey of drug and alcohol use.

The Pennsylvania Youth Survey found that the school's seniors used alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and other drugs at rates lower than their peers at other Lancaster County schools last year.

In 2007, the school's sophomores — largely the same group of pupils — reported drinking and using drugs at higher rates than other students in the county.

Some Manheim Township School District officials questioned the accuracy of the survey results, claiming students purposely provided false answers.

But superintendent Gene Freeman said the '09 results may actually be more accurate than the 2007 numbers, reflecting a growing awareness that the school has a substance-abuse problem.

While the 2009 survey indicates drug and alcohol use is declining overall, the results are still troubling, he said.

"We are certainly pleased that the numbers are down, but it's still not good," Freeman said. "We need to continue to work on programs to assist students and families that have these issues."

According to the survey, the percentage of Manheim Township students who used alcohol in the previous 30 days dropped from 34.9 percent among sophomores in 2007 to 29.5 percent of seniors last year, well below the 39.1 percent 2009 average for the county.

The percentage of students engaging in binge drinking also declined, although less dramatically, from 18.2 percent in '07 to 16.9 percent last year. The county average for 2009 was 22.8 percent.

The survey also found that:

• Marijuana use dropped from 22 percent in 2007 to 14.4 percent in '09, below the county average of 17.3 percent.

• Inhalant use declined from 3.7 percent in '07 to 2.4 percent last year, just under the county average of 2.7 percent.

• Cocaine use dropped from 3.7 percent to 1.3 percent, slightly below the county average of 1.4 percent.

The survey did indicate some increases.

A larger percentage of students smoked cigarettes (13.3 percent vs. 11.3 percent) and used Ecstasy (1.4 percent vs. 1.1 percent) in 2009 than in 2007.

What happened from 2007 to 2009 to affect the results?

The economy went sour, which meant some students had less disposable income, but Freeman said it's difficult to say whether that had any impact on the survey results.

He said increased public awareness of drug and alcohol problems at the high school may have played a part.

After the results of the 2007 survey went public last year, the district began implementing a new drug and alcohol awareness and prevention program that includes random student drug testing.

That effort was just getting started when last year's senior class took the survey, and the random testing won't begin until later this month.

But the issue was a hot topic, Freeman said, which may have prompted students to be more realistic with their responses.

"I do think the 2007 results may have been somewhat embellished by students," he said. "I know that, throughout my career, when you do anonymous surveys, students don't take them seriously."

Some Manheim Township school board members recently questioned the accuracy of the 2009 survey results.

Mark Anderson said he was concerned that students were purposely checking the wrong boxes "for grins and giggles."

Board member Tom O'Brien said he knows of several students who didn't take the survey seriously.

Rebekah Richin, a Manheim Township High School sophomore who serves as a student representative on the board, agreed.

"I personally know so many people who treat this as a joke," she said.

But instead of inflating the numbers, she said, students underreport their drug and alcohol use for fear the school will crack down on pupils if the numbers are high.

The surveys, which are sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, are screened to detect false answers.

Surveys that report unrealistically high instances of drug use or antisocial behaviors or inconsistent responses to drug-use questions are thrown out.

False answers also are flagged by inserting fictitious drug names into the surveys. If students say they've used that "drug," their results are pulled.

Of the 6,388 Lancaster County students surveyed in 2009, 235 survey results, or 3.7 percent of the total, were rejected.

Participation in the survey is voluntary, and schools are not required to make the results public.

bwallace@lnpnews.com