Washington County school briefs

Early Childhood Family Programs in North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale District 622 are again collecting gently used or new coats, hats and mittens for families in need. The annual coat drive will run through Nov. 5.

Donations are being accepted at all early childhood sites in the district: Beaver Lake Education Center, 1060 Sterling St., Maplewood; Gladstone Community Center, 1945 Manton St., Maplewood; and the District Education Center, 2520 E. 12th Av., North St. Paul.

All sizes are needed, and items collected will go to Joseph's Coat in St. Paul, an organization that distributes clothing at no charge.

Talk to focus on sex, drugs, texting Renowned psychologist and family physician Dr. Leonard Sax of Exton, Pa., will give a presentation called "Sex, Drugs and too Much Texting" from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Woodbury Lutheran Church, 7380 Afton Road.

The presentation will focus on the growing problem of teens involved with social networking sites such as Facebook, as well as texting, sexting, and instant messaging. Sax will also talk about the different reasons boys and girls have for becoming involved in alcohol abuse, using cigarettes and illegal drugs and engaging in sexual activity.

The event, sponsored by Promoting Positive Parenting of the East Metro, is free and open to the public.

Schools gets clean audit report For the seventh consecutive year, independent financial auditors have given the Stillwater Area Public School District a clean report with its highest rating, according to a news release. The report shows the district ended fiscal year 2010 in "good condition" with revenues coming in over budget by nearly $200,000 and expenses under budget by $3.3 million.