DRUGS IN SCHOOL

ADMINISTRATORS FOR the Pueblo City Schools say they face a growing
problem of teenage drug and alcohol use, so they are asking for a
tough new policy that would include random drug testing and searches.

Superintendent John Covington said the proposed drug testing is "not
an 'I gotcha kind of thing.' It's to find the students who are using
drugs and get them help."

Terri Martinez-McGraw, director of student intervention services,
told a recent work session of the Board of Education that agencies
such as Catholic Charities already have provided free counseling for
students with drug, alcohol and mental health problems. She noted
that the district's current drug policy is more than a decade old.

Times do change, so it is not unreasonable for the school board to
consider updating how the school system deals with drug and alcohol
abuse. Those behaviors are antithetical to getting a good education,
and educating young people is why taxpayer dollars support the public schools.