By JONEL ALECCIA

Nearly a month after a North Medford High School worker was jolted by a 277-volt electric shock from a bathroom light switch, school officials are investigating the possibility that student vandalism led to the incident.

About a half dozen students are being questioned, North High Dean Mike Kay said Monday.

School officials obtained their names after offering a $200 reward for information about the April 7 accident, which has left campus monitor Patricia McLinn with lingering injuries.

"There was a possibility that (the switch) had been tampered with," Kay said. "We're not sure that it was tampered with. ... Nobody has been charged and no formal accusations have been made."

Two students have been suspended this week for several separate incidents of vandalism, including damage to electrical fixtures, said Buzz Brazeau, North High assistant principal. Those students haven't been implicated in McLinn's case, however, he said.

"I would go so far as to say that no violations so far have resulted in injury to people," Brazeau said. Still, school officials have asked Medford police to evaluate the incidents for possible criminal charges.

McLinn, 46, of Eagle Point, was back at work Monday for the first time since April 7, when she tried to turn on a bank of lights in a boys' bathroom and was jolted by the 277 volts of electricity commonly used in commercial wiring.

"She put a key into an electrical device and the electrical current grabbed her and she couldn't let go of the key for a number of seconds," McLinn's attorney, Mike Casey, said Monday. "Then it threw her against a wall."

McLinn suffered burns to her fingers and exit wounds, which have since healed, Casey said. The more lasting effects have included difficulties speaking and thinking, said McLinn's husband, Richard McLinn.

"It's real hard for her to grasp the words she wants and when she finds them, she doesn't remember what she wanted them for," he said.

Speaking haltingly by phone, McLinn said Sunday that she would be glad to get back to work.

"I want to go back," she said. "It has not been easy."

McLinn's family retained Casey, a lawyer with Doblie and Associates, a firm with offices in Portland and Roseburg. Casey, who specializes in workers' compensation claims, said that he's still waiting for information to decide whether to pursue legal action in McLinn's case.

"If a prank went awry and someone was injured, we'd have to consider our options," he said. "Whether to litigate against teenagers is something to consider."

The incident marks the first time North High officials have offered monetary rewards for information about student activities, Kay said.

"We got several responses in the first eight minutes," he said. "It's just a process you need to go through sometimes to get information."

McLinn is lucky to have survived the shock, said Larry Horton, a retired electrical engineer in Medford. Depending on the amperage created, shocks of between 160 and 300 volts can cause respiratory block; shocks of more than 300 volts are usually fatal.