SCHOOL BOARD BALKS AT DRUG TESTING

School Board member Harry Kinnan believes implementing a
drug-testing program in schools has merit.

He also knows it's a vast undertaking requiring plenty of scrutiny
and discussion.

The Manatee County school district's Safe, Drug-Free School
Department applied for and received a $103,000 grant from the U.S.
Dept. of Education that would allow the district to randomly test
about 50 percent of student-athletes - including cheerleaders - for
use of amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, benzodiazepines and
marijuana, as well as alcohol.

But Kinnan and other school board members have expressed some
concerns with the program. And during Monday night's board meeting,
members delayed hiring a drug-testing technician to give themselves
time to investigate the program.

"The grant had come to us without some of the due diligence we
wanted to see in advance," Kinnan said. "The concept, we all agree,
is wonderful. There needed to be a plan or a timetable presented to us."

Kinnan would like to see more involvement from the county's athletic
directors and principals, mostly in regards to the consequences if a
student's test result is positive.

The program states that the first time a test comes back positive,
students face a 30-day ban from competition - but will be allowed to
practice - and must enter a drug-treatment program. They must also
pass another drug test before returning to action, and will be
tested once a month for the remainder of the calendar year.

For a second positive test, the student-athlete will be banned from
sports for one calendar year. A third test will result in a permanent ban.

"You need to have their input," Kinnan said of the the county's
athletic directors, "and how they feel about first offenses, and
things like that."

Another board member, Jane Pfeilsticker, said those measures are in
conflict with the district's current code of conduct, which states
students found under the influence of illegal drugs face a 10-day
suspension that can be lessened by the principal if the student
agrees to enter treatment.

The grant makes no mention of a suspension from school.

"They're just suspended from sports play," she said. "These items
need to be reconciled."

Pfeilsticker also wants to make sure the test - which would be
administered first by a school nurse - doesn't infringe on the
student's right to privacy as it is written in the code of conduct.

"We need to define that," she said. "And we need to know if it goes
outside the right to privacy."

Kinnan said the 2,500 student-athletes in the county, as well as
their parents, need to be properly informed of the program before it
is implemented. One idea he had was a question-and-answer session,
or have information sent out to the county's schools.

"That would have a lot of merit to it," Kinnan said.

Pat Bernhart, the district's supervisor of student services, has
made it clear the program's mission is not to punish, but to deter
student-athletes from getting mixed up with drugs to begin with - a
sentiment echoed by board members. The grant
allows student-athletes who fail three tests to seek reinstatement,
as long as they have made strides to get themselves clean.

"They would have to show . . . 'I have changed my life, give me
another chance,' " Bernhart said. "This is not a 'Gotcha!' kind of grant."

Kinnan said he agrees keeping kids away from drugs is a worthwhile
cause, he just wants to make sure it is done correctly.

"I think there are a lot of steps that need to be taken," Kinnan
said. "Tabling the hiring of the drug technician gives us the
opportunity to step back and be sure this is moved in the right way.
Whether it takes a semester - I can't put a timetable on it."