LOCKNEY MAN 'GLAD' DRUG-TEST SUIT RESOLVED

LOCKNEY - Larry Tannahill of Lockney finally can breath a sigh of relief.

After a year of fighting the local school district's mandatory drug-testing
policy, Tannahill got his wish: Lockney schools will not make its students
submit to future drug testing, according to a tentative settlement agreement.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of Tannahill
and his son Brady, who was the only Lockney student who did not take the
mandatory suspicionless drug testing.

Larry Tannahill said he feels vindicated but also a little road weary.

"I'm just glad for all this mess to get over with," Larry Tannahill said.
"It's been a burden on us for the last 14 months. I'm glad to have it over
with and out of the way."

The Lockney Independent School District met in an emergency executive
session Wednesday night and decided to settle the case.

Larry Tannahill said he met with Lockney Superintendent Raymond Lusk at
about 7 p.m. Wednesday, and Larry Tannahill signed and had notarized his
agreement to the settlement.

Lusk said Thursday that the district received the agreement paperwork late
Tuesday, and he signed the agreement after the meeting Wednesday.

"We do believe that we made a positive impact on our school and students
through the policy we had in place," he said. "The decision to reach a
settlement agreement was purely economical."

Lockney ISD's attorney, Lee Veness in Dallas, said the district is not
admitting any liability.

"The simple fact of the matter is that the school has limited resources to
see that justice is done," Veness said. "They can only go so far. This is
an economic thing more than anything."

The tentative settlement agreement, which had not reached U.S. District
Judge Sam R. Cummings' office in Lubbock by late Thursday, asks that drug
testing be performed only with the students' and parents' consent or based
upon reasonable suspicion.

It also asks that Lockney ISD pay for Larry Tannahill's $50,000 worth of
attorney's fees. Court papers filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Northern
District, in Lubbock indicate the school district has until today to
respond to that part of the tentative agreement.

Lusk said the fees will be paid to the ACLU out of the school's insurance
policy.

In return, the Tannahills cannot bring further legal action against the
school district in this matter.

Michael Linz, an ACLU attorney in Austin, said Thursday he has not received
any finalized paperwork on any settlement. Veness said "the case looks like
it's going to be settled."

ACLU brought the lawsuit soon after the school started testing students in
February 2000. The school district later changed the policy so that
students who tested positive or did not take the test would not be barred
from extracurricular activities or placed in in-school suspension.

Even with all the negative attention over the past year, at least one
parent said he thinks mandatory drug testing was a good idea to keep
children away from drugs.

"I was for the drug policy. I knew it was good sense," said Zach Cummings
of Lockney, who has an eighth-grade boy at Lockney. "As far as dropping the
lawsuit, I believe they (school officials) were probably butting their
heads against a brick wall."