PARENTS WEIGH IN ON DRUG TESTING

KINNELON -- The district is exploring a program that could require
high school students to agree to random tests for cocaine, marijuana
and other drugs in order to participate in extracurricular activities.

Superintendent James Opiekun told parents at a forum Tuesday night
that drug testing would "help us address a problem, just like a
drunk-driving sobriety test."

But some parents worried that required testing could reduce
participation in sports and clubs, cost too much money and curb
students' rights.

"I've always been asked for my permission for scoliosis tests, for
physicals," said parent Vic-toria Maroldi. "I can't believe that I
would not be asked for my permission for you to urine-test my kid."

If it's started, Kinnelon will be one of about 15 districts in the
state with mandatory random drug testing policies. There are 615
districts in the state. Under the district's current policy, tests
are only done when students are suspected of using drugs.

The forum, organized by the district to gather reactions to
mandatory and voluntary drug testing, stretched past 10 p.m. and
generated a heated debate.

Speakers, including representatives from Pequannock -- the first
district in the state to institute voluntary drug testing for
middle-schoolers -- argued that testing could curb drug use and
create an atmosphere of "positive peer pressure."

Pequannock also instituted mandatory testing for high school
students participating in extracurricular activities in 2005 as a
reaction to a series of fatal overdoses. Since then, two high school
students have tested positive for drugs. They were stripped of their
extracurricular privileges and required to attend six follow-up
meetings with a drug counselor, district officials said.

Some Kinnelon parents worried that drug testing in a small community
would single out students who tested positive. But Jamie Laus, a
high school junior and student representative to the Board of
Education, said he thought testing would "stop the fad of drug
use." Parent Diane Penola agreed.

"It would act as a deterrent," said Penola, the parent of two
district children. "I think it would open parents' eyes."

Marijuana and prescription drug use continue to be problems among
high school students, according to the school's substance abuse
counselor, Priscilla Adams. The number of young people arrested on
drug possession charges has also increased, authorities say.

In 2006, Kinnelon police made seven drug possession arrests, more
than they have in five years, Detective David Crouthamel said. Most
of the people charged were in their teens and 20s. Most of the
prospective buyers were teenagers.

"They're mostly dealing to the high school kids," Crouthamel said.

For now, the problem is mainly marijuana, but Crouthamel said he'd
also heard of students exchanging prescription pills. Police
responded to three calls for pill overdoses in 2006, he said. A
college student visiting from Pennsylvania died after she took a
cocktail of OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet.

Board members will discuss the possibility of organizing a drug
testing task force at a Feb. 22 meeting.

"It's something the board is exploring," Opiekun said. "We need to
sit down now and decide how much more input we should get."