PARENTS DEBATE DRUG TESTING

Some Fear Big Brother

MORTON - Ross and Carla Collins have two daughters in sports and band at
Morton High School, and they don't want them subjected to drug testing.

They were among parents who told the District 709 School Board on Monday it
would be a mistake to adopt a mandatory drug-testing policy for students
involved in extracurricular activities.

"I don't feel there is a drug problem with the group they would be
targeting," Carla Collins said before a community forum on the proposal.
About 50 people attended.

Ross Collins added: "It's our money they'll be spending on the testing, and
the School Board better have a good reason for spending our money."

That point came across even louder when district Superintendent Norm
Durflinger said the drug-testing program may cost as much as $15,000 per
year, which would come out of the education fund. Grumbles then could be
heard from the back rows of the auditorium.

One audience member asked if the money might be better spent on "education
for students."

But Pam Look, whose 15-year old son plays football at Morton, defended
mandatory drug testing.

"As a parent, I don't want anybody to put a dollar value on my kids' lives.
If we spend $15,000 a year and save one kid, I think it's worth it," she
said. "I do believe this is a deterrent for kids."

Sue Knight, whose son Stuart also plays football, disagreed.

"It's too much Big Brother," she said. "I have no doubt my son would pass a
drug test, but the school is trying to take on more and more of what
families should be concerned with. I resent the intrusion."

Stuart, a beefy tackle on the sophomore football team, rested his elbow on
his mother's shoulder after the forum.

"I have my own deterrent," he said. "My dad says he'll kick me out of the
house if he catches me smoking.

"I know kids at school who do drugs. I just think the school is going after
the wrong group with the testing," Stuart said. "It's an invasion of privacy."

Durflinger was part of a panel that included three other area administrators.

Jim Miller, superintendent of El Paso schools, and Robin Houchin, principal
at Deer Creek-Mackinaw High School, spoke about the mandatory drug-testing
programs already in place at their schools.

Dr. Brock Butts, superintendent of Tremont schools, said his School Board
in February rejected drug testing.

"We had to ask: 'Do we really want to pull a sixth-grader out of class and
have them urinate in a cup?' That was offensive to a lot of people, me
included," Butts said. "Our decision was to not adopt a policy, but that's
not to say we're done with this issue. We're looking at other ways to
create a deterrent for the total population instead of just those students
in extracurricular activities."

Miller and Houchin said their communities were pleased with their
drug-testing programs and stressed that the integrity and privacy of the
tests were key. No students have tested positive in the two years random
drug testing has been in place in El Paso, and only two students have
tested positive in six years of testing at Deer Creek-Mackinaw.

"The problem is that it's just about impossible to identify the kids who
need help," Houchin said. Students with drug problems "are not going to
come forward, and any prevention program you offer will probably get turned
down."

Durflinger said there is a drug problem at Morton schools.

"We have done drug searches with dogs and have found traces of marijuana;
many times, it's in vehicles," he said. "It is our feeling that students
are now carrying (drugs) on them. ... It has also been brought to my
attention by police and by family members that some of our students are
using drugs."

The District 709 board still is gathering information on the drug testing.
Durflinger said as many as two more community forums might be scheduled in
coming months.

If a mandatory drug-testing policy is adopted, it would not take effect
until the start of the 2001-02 school year.