PARENTS STILL UPSET OVER DRUG TESTING

Board Changes Policy After Cheerleaders' Test Mishap

The Decatur County School Board has voted to start using a new company for
student-athlete drug tests and only accept results that are positive or
negative.

Parents were outraged when a screening Nov. 15 found that 18 of 24
cheerleaders at Riverside High School were "presumptively positive." The
screening was handled by Medilink, a Lexington company. The girls were
suspended for two games until parents obtained drug screens with negative
results.

The board voted on the changes to its drug testing policy at a meeting Jan.
10. A new company was not named at the meeting. Seven board members voted
in favor of the changes, one opposed them and one abstained from voting.

The board also voted unanimously to place an apology for the Nov. 15
episode in two local weekly papers. A public notice in two Decatur County
weekly newspapers on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16 said the board "apologizes for any
embarrassment caused by the drug testing policy."

Doris Montgomery, whose daughter is on the squad, said parents are still upset.

"We don't think the old policy was bad," she said. "We just don't think it
was followed properly."

Michael Price, the director of schools, and officials with Medilink
declined comment. Medilink is the company the school board used since it
created the drug testing policy four years ago.

The Nov. 15 screening came three weeks after a test that found all the
girls negative. Price ordered a second screening when he heard rumors that
the girls had exchanged urine samples.

A "presumptively positive" result means that further testing is suggested.

Montgomery and others said the girls' reputations were damaged by the
results of the second screening and that disciplinary action was taken
before the matter could be settled.

Ralph Aaron, the board member who voted against the changes, said he
doesn't think school boards should be involved with drug testing until the
U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue. Aaron, who has been on the board for
a year and half, was elected after the policy was enacted.

In November, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether schools can
administer random drug tests to nearly any student involved in after-school
activities. The court's ruling is expected by summer.