DRUG TESTING APPEARS LIKELY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL ATHLETES

A Majority At A School Board Workshop Seems To Support Random Tests
That Could Begin Next Year.

INVERNESS - As early as January, high school athletes in Citrus
County could be required to submit to random drug testing as a
condition to play sports.

The announcement came Tuesday during a School Board workshop.

The program, called "Taking a Proactive Stance," must still win
approval by the board, but a majority at the workshop seemed to
embrace the idea.

Superintendent Sandra "Sam" Himmel has thrown her full support
behind the program, saying it is a positive way to deter drug use
among Citrus students.

Under the program, any high school athlete who tests positive for
illegal drugs, including steroids, marijuana and alcohol, would be
required to complete a free, 12-week counseling program at the
Centers in addition to missing two sporting events.

If the same student fails the test more than once, the student could
be out for an entire season. Parents and students must consent to
the urine test; those who refuse won't be allowed to participate in sports.

Eventually, the district hopes to expand random drug testing to
students who participate in extracurricular activities such as clubs
or the marching band.

School officials stressed that the goal of the program is not to
punish students but to give them an incentive to be drug-free.

"It is an out," said Nancy Haydon, who spoke to board members about
the program's success in Marion County. "Students can say, 'No. I
don't want to party this weekend because I've got to play football.' "

A similar program has come under scrutiny in Hernando County, where
board members are split about whether to make student drug testing a
way of life there.

Jonny Bishop, the new coordinator of special programs in Citrus,
cited statistics at Tuesday's workshop to show that drug use among
Citrus students may be on the rise.

"We always say that marijuana is the gateway drug," Bishop said.
"Unfortunately, it looks like quite a few of our students have
stepped through the gate."

Citing Citrus sheriff's statistics, Bishop said 48 percent of all
high school student arrests last year were drug related.

He also cited a 2004 random survey of middle and high school
students. Of nearly 700 high school students, 62 percent responded
they had used alcohol.

Fifteen percent said they had showed up to school either drunk or
high at least once.

"As an administrator, it's very alarming," Bishop said. "As the
parent of two young kids, that also is very alarming."

The district will hold a public hearing in January to outline the
new policy for parents. But first, the board will take the idea to
the coaches and student athletes next week.

Haydon gave board members some advice to help sell the idea to the
community. "I think it's important for you to understand that it's a
way of life for kids," Haydon said. "If you can get them off drugs
early enough, you can change their lives forever."

Random drug testing has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, as
long as it is limited to students involved in athletics and
extracurricular activities, not all students.