CBC WEIGHS DRUG TESTING OF TEACHERS AND STAFF

One of St. Louis' largest Catholic boys schools is considering
mandatory drug-testing for its teachers, board members and staff, a
plan that could become the first in the area and one of just a few in
the country.

Leaders at Christian Brothers College high school in Town and Country
emphasized that they have just begun discussing the idea. It follows
closely a decision to begin drug testing students at the start of next
school year.

CBC's principal, Brother David Poos, said he has much to do before
anything is decided, including getting formal input from his staff.
But he said he had not heard resistance from teachers so far.

"Many have said, 'Let me be the first,'" he said. "I've said
that."

National education leaders, however, were concerned by the precedent.
Teaching, they said, is a profession that has long enjoyed a
reputation for virtuous behavior. A move like this could corrode the
relationship between teacher and student.

"I would be upset if we had to come to something like that," said
Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Education
Association. She said she had not heard of a similar plan in the
United States. "We know our teachers better than that. We trust our
teachers more than that."

Poos insisted that CBC leaders aren't looking at the idea in response
to drug abuse among teachers.

It's more a show of solidarity with students, he said - adults setting
an example for students.

CBC decided last school year that it would begin random, mandatory
drug testing of all 1,100 students in the fall of 2007, the first such
program in the metro area.

As the school sought feedback on the idea, several parents asked if
teachers and staff members would be tested, too.

Poos wasn't sure if all the requests were serious, but he said the
school began to consider the idea anyway.

Over the summer, leaders called other schools with similar
plans.

Then, at CBC's August orientation meeting, Poos told his staff to
anticipate a discussion on the issue this year. Last week, the
school's teacher committee sent an e-mail surveying all teachers.

The school has not decided how teachers would be tested, nor the
consequences of a positive test. But Poos imagined it would be the
same as the student plan: hair samples from all of CBC's roughly 120
staffers would be taken. Each staffer would be tested at least once
during the year; some would be chosen randomly to be tested again.

Unlike with students, if teachers were caught, they might not get a
second chance, Poos said. Teachers who tested positive could be fired.
Holding on to them could cause legal trouble, he said. The school's
lawyer is now studying that issue, among others.

CBC board chairman John King said the decision could be made as soon
as the next board meeting, at the beginning of November.

Several parents and students said they liked the idea.

"Worst that could happen is a teacher who shouldn't be teaching gets
caught," CBC senior Tommy Daher said. "And that'd be a good thing."

His father agreed.

"I think it's a fair deal," said Thomas Daher Jr. "It shows
solidarity." Besides, he said, it makes parents feel good to know the
teachers are clean, too.

CBC teachers would not comment publicly. Poos had asked them to refer
reporters' questions to him.

But at least one local educator said it wouldn't bother
him.

"I can't speak for all the teachers," said Duane Lund, a longtime math
teacher now at Trinity Catholic High in Bellefontaine Neighbors, and a
union officer for the St. Louis Archdiocesan Teachers Association.
"But we're working with students every day. I could see a parent being
concerned," he said, especially in light of recent news reports of
teacher malfeasance.

CBC leaders know of two other school systems that have similar plans
in place. Representatives from both said drug-testing teachers has
been a good example for their students.

"We walk the talk," said Ann Slaughter, drug coordinator for the
Diocese of Peoria School District, which has tested staffers at six
high schools for seven years. "It works. That's all I can say."

But other parents and educators aren't sure the step is
necessary.

Leonard DeFiore, a past Catholic schools superintendentand now a
professor of education at the Catholic University of America in
Washington, worries that drug testing teachers is just one more
example of an increasingly suspicious society. It reminded him of
prenuptial agreements and signed business contracts, he said, of
airport weapons checks and no-hug public school policies.

"We're saying, in effect, we can't take your word on it," DeFiore
said.

And this act, he warned, could change CBC.

"It redefines relationships," he said. "It becomes part of the
curriculum, in effect teaching everyone, 'This is what life is.'"

Poos understands that view. It is a shame, he said.

But if drug testing makes his students safer - his school better - he
wants it at CBC.