SURVEY HELPS SV GAUGE DRUG TESTING

Special Committee Lauds Data

A proposal to test student athletes for drug use continues to fuel
controversy in the Susquehanna Valley Central School District.

School board officials discussed survey findings of alcohol and drug
use among student athletes Thursday night. The results will help the
district decide whether to implement a drug-testing policy.

The Teen Assessment Project survey, conducted in the spring of 1999,
polled 2,700 students in six Broome County districts. The data can be
narrowed to show the responses of male and female SV athletes in
grades seven, nine and 11. Students answered 155 questions, 13 of
which related to drugs and alcohol.

"There's a lot of good information here and I'm glad the board was
wise enough to empower us to seek the data," said Bill Yelverton, a
member of a four-person committee appointed by the board to decide
whether to complete an independent survey.

Responses to one of the questions revealed 19 percent, or 38 of the
203 SV student athletes surveyed, have used marijuana. Ten percent, or
20 student athletes, said they use marijuana a few times a year or
more.

"The data gives the answers of how many students are doing what," said
board member Susan Pollock. "But each person has to decide what these
numbers mean."

Board member Janice Young agreed. "I'm torn with this because when are
we ever going to reach a consensus with what number is a big enough
problem?"

If drug testing were approved, athletes would have to take a urine
test before the start of the season for the presence of any substance
considered illegal by New York or which is controlled by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration. Substances on the list include cocaine,
heroin, marijuana and amphetamines.

The district also would conduct random testing of athletes during the
season. A student testing positive could face suspension from athletics.

"If we're going to adopt a drug-testing policy, we're all going to
have to be comfortable with it, and we're not right now," said board
member Mary M. Rader.

School board members will scrutinize survey responses at a meeting at
7 p.m. Jan. 18. They also will seek bids - dependent on grant monies -
for additional independent studies.