TAMPA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL SAYS DRUG TESTING PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL

TAMPA -- Out of the 120 students at Tampa Catholic High School
randomly screened for drugs this past school year, not a single one
tested positive, school administrators said today.

The testing program, the only one of its kind among Hillsborough
County's public or private schools, will continue next year, even
though Principal Pat Landry, is retiring.

The new principal, Tom Reidy, will carry the random drug screen torch
when school starts in the fall, Landry said.

Landry has two weeks left before she draws the curtain on 17 years at
Tampa Catholic. Students,of which there are about 800, are through
with school for the summer. Only teachers and administrators remained
there this week.

The principal said the idea to randomly test students has been kicking
around for a few years and last year she decided to implement the plan.

"It worked out very positively," she said this afternoon. "We did not
have a single student test positive, out of 120 students we tested."

Random meant random, she said. Tests were done unannounced at
different times during different days of the week. Some students were
tested more than once, just because of the randomness of it all, she
said.

Selected students were called to the principal's office and submitted
to a mouth swab. The sample was put into a vial and placed in its own
envelope that was sent to a lab for analysis, she said.

The program was termed a success, she said.

"We will continue the way we've done it this year," Landry
said.

In December, U.S. drug czar John P. Walters visited the school after
hearing of the program. Students told him that the program was less of
a hassle than initially thought, although some students said they
thought their privacy had been invaded.

Landry said she had hoped the random drug test policy would provide
students with an additional reason to say no to drugs. Despite
concerns from parents about privacy, they all signed consent forms,
giving permission for the random tests to be done.

In February 2007, the school announced it would begin random drug
testing for all students in the fall. Most other schools do have
random testing for athletes in certain programs, but none in
Hillsborough County has random tests for all students.

The test screens for eight drugs. One positive test would result in
counseling and follow-up testing. A second positive test would mean
expulsion.

The program is modeled after a similar initiative at Clearwater
Central Catholic High School, which began testing students in 2002.
Clearwater Central Catholic tests 10 percent of its student body each
year for alcohol and drugs, including Ecstasy, marijuana and cocaine.

In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed public schools to
conduct random drug testing of athletes and that was expanded in 2002
to include students involved in extracurricular activities.

Tampa Catholic is part of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg,
which leaves drug testing decisions to individual schools, diocesan
officials said.