DRUG DOG COULD BE COMING TO CAMPUS

Templeton students may soon see a friendly, tail-wagging pooch on campus.

However, this dog wouldn’t be looking for pats on the head, it would be
sniffing for drugs and gun-powder.

Superintendent Curt Dubost calls it the district’s latest effort to prevent
drugs and violence from escalating on campuses, but at least one detractor
calls it a step backward for individual rights.

Last month, the school board unanimously approved a mandatory drug-testing
program for all student-athletes beginning this year.

At the board’s Thursday night meeting, trustees will discuss the possibility
of employing a so-called "drug dog." Any details on how to carry out such a
program would be worked out later by the board if it eventually approves one.

Dubost said state and federal grants, which he said have become more
available since the April shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton,
Colo., would pay for the estimated maximum cost of $1,800.

Trustees also will discuss a proposal to institute a hot line to receive
anonymous tips on vandalism or other crimes, as well as to reach a counselor
24-hours a day.

Dubost said administrators and the board are tired of expelling students for
drug possession, but insisted the district does not have a serious problem.

"We want to stop it if we can before we get to that point," he said.

Dubost said the Lucia Mar district has employed drug dogs at Arroyo Grande
High School and that other districts in the county are also interested in
finding out more about the program. He believes the Templeton community
would support such a policy.

That’s what concerns Hank Alberts, of the San Luis Obispo chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union. He spoke against the drug-testing policy
last month before trustees approved it.

"They’re accepting it," he said. "That’s another thing that the ACLU
considers frightening: the lack of opponents to it."

Alberts said these kinds of policies presume guilt and show a lack of trust
of students and parents.

"I think these policies are just based on fear and hysteria," he said,
adding that, "I don’t think it enhances the educational environment."

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Templeton Middle School at 925 Old
Country Road.