SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS

Ohio Grants $1.5m to 9 Wood County School Districts for Drug
Prevention

BOWLING GREEN - When money got tight in North Baltimore Local Schools
two years ago, a student drug-testing program was among the first
things to be cut.

With the help of two federal grants that could bring more than $1.5
million to Wood County over the next three years, the drug-testing
program is to be reinstated in North Baltimore, introduced at
Perrysburg, Northwood, and Elmwood, and expanded at Rossford and
Otsego high schools.

"This is going to help kids and sometimes it's difficult to measure
how much, but it's going to help," Ed Platzer, director of community
service and regional projects for the Wood County Educational Service
Center, said at a news conference yesterday where the grants were
announced. The service center, which runs the school and
community-based Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention Program
for nine Wood County districts and Penta Career Center, landed a
$377,000 grant to reduce alcohol abuse in grades 7-12 that it may
renew for up to three years. A $175,000 grant for school-based student
drug testing in grades 9-12 also is renewable for up to three years.

Both grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office
of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.

Lorrie Lewandowski, who coordinates the prevention program in Wood
County, said drug testing will be done at the six participating high
schools for athletes, students involved in other extracurricular
activities, and for students who along with their parent have
consented to random drug testing.

Courts have held that schools may require drug testing for students
involved in extracurricular activities, which are considered
privileges, but may not randomly test students simply because they
attend school.

"Why drug testing?" Ms. Lewandowski asked. "It's not meant to be
punitive. It's meant to supply an out for our young people."

Student athletes can use the drug-testing program as a reason to say
no, she said. When students do test positive, schools can take that as
an opportunity to help that student get the information and services
needed to address his or her problem.

"This is a piece of the whole comprehensive systemic plan for
prevention," Ms. Lewandowski said, adding that addressing drug and
alcohol abuse is "not a school problem, but school is probably one of
the best venues to offer this kind of thing because students are a
captive body."

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. George Voinovich's office said the Wood
County Educational Service Center was one of about 50 recipients
across the country who received nearly $5.8 million in federal funds
for drug testing programs.

Pat Murtha, assistant principal at Rossford High School, said his
school just finished its second year of testing athletes and others
involved in activities ranging from National Honor Society to student
council. Students are tested by urinalysis at the beginning of the
year or athletic season and are then subject to random testing during
the course of the year or season.

Only a few have tested positive, Mr. Murtha said, and none has tested
positive twice.

"What I hope has happened is some kids said, 'Sorry, I can't do that.
I'm in sports. We have drug testing.' Some kids say it has helped;
some say it hasn't," he said. "I think it's worth it."

Perrysburg Superintendent Tom Hosler said he will be working with the
school board to develop a first-time drug testing policy for the high
school. He had experience with drug testing in his previous job with
Huron schools in Wayne County, Mich.

"Bringing these types of programs to communities is not always easy,
but they're the right thing to do," Mr. Hosler said. "It's not about
catching kids. It's about giving them another opportunity to say no."
North Baltimore Superintendent Kyle Clark said he's glad to be getting
back to the program the school once had.

"We never wanted to eliminate the drug-testing program," Mr. Clark
said. "It never was eliminated. It was just put on hold, but at the
same time in conversation with the board they wanted me to continue to
look for funding. We talked with the county office and through their
collaboration and extreme effort they were able to put something
together that qualified all of us for this program."

Mr. Platzer said the two grants will provide a huge boost to the
agency's financial resources. The educational service center currently
gets about $535,000 a year from the Wood County Board of Alcohol, Drug
Addiction, and Mental Health Services to run the drug and alcohol
prevention program. Participating schools kick in about $180,000 a
year.

Also yesterday, Mr. Platzer said four private schools had signed on as
partners in the alcohol-abuse reduction program - St. Aloysius School
and Bowling Green Christian School, both in Bowling Green, All Saints
School in Rossford, and St. Jerome School in Walbridge.