SCHOOLS TO START RANDOM DRUG TESTING

It's coming. And soon.

By the time the 2008-2009 school year begins, Scott County schools
plan to have a random drug testing policy in place.

"Within the next several weeks, I will recommend to the board that we
approve a drug testing initiative for our secondary schools,"
Superintendent Dr. Dallas Blankenship said. "In the meantime we are
doing studies on timetables, the cost and the best way to implement
this program."

The schools and Scott County Against Drugs have been having a
dialogue for almost two years on such a program and it is close to
reaching fruition.

SCAD and representatives from the schools recently met and cleared
the air about the issue.

"We hosted a meeting with the schools and that was a really good
meeting," Bob Leonard, co-chairman of SCAD, said. "We explained about
drug testing, what it was and what it wasn't. There are a lot of
misconceptions out there."

SCAD has taken the ball on the issue and is running with it, but
Leonard says they can only go so far.

"We're interested, and we've been working with them for one and a
half years, but it's the school system's program," he said.

The plan is to have a community forum in February to let citizens
have their say, Leonard said.

"We would encourage people to come," he said. "The idea is to
identify the kids with problems and try to get them back drug-free.
If they get caught earlier they can get in some kind of assistance
program. But we just need a way to identify these kids and help them
before they destroy their lives."

The school system has picked up the ball and is looking closely at
the logistics of such a program, said Chip Southworth, director of
secondary education.

"Now is the time to look at the cost and look at how effective it can
be," Southworth said. "We have to look at how much it is per test,
what percentage of students we test and how many times we test them."

Southworth pointed out the process does not end with the test
results.

"You need to get help for these students who test positive, and you
have to understand there are costs for this," he said.

The main thing, Southworth said, is if a student tests positive, the
legal system will not be involved.

"It won't be punitive," he said.

"We've looked at a lot of models," he said. "We're really looking
closely at the one in Nelson County and we've looked at Tates Creek,
plus a lot of the Fayette public schools have models. But what we
want to do is help a student if he gets caught."

But testing positive for drugs is a different story than getting
caught with drugs at school, Southworth said.

"If a kid has it on his person or if he is trafficking in school,
then the law would get involved," he said.

While the Scott model is still a work in progress, it would probably
involve those students in_volved in competitive extracurricular
activities like athletics and band as well as students who have
permits to drive to school.

The goal of the program, Southworth said, is to have a public forum
in early February where parents and citizens could offer their input.

"We want the community to understand what we're trying to do," he
said. "We're hoping to have a cost analysis chart to the board by
March and a number of different policies for them to consider in
March and April. Then they can make their decision. But we'd like to
have it in place by the beginning of the next school year."