DRUG TESTING CATCHING ON

Caldwell -- The school district in this small south Kansas town was the first in the state to implement random drug testing for student-athletes.

Other districts are following suit -- and like Caldwell, they're in small towns.

The Bluestem district, in the Flint Hills east of Wichita, added its own policy in 1998. The district in Columbus, in southeast Kansas, will start testing this fall.

And now, the Silver Lake district near Topeka is looking at a testing policy.

"It's a sad statement about where we are in society when we have to deal with this," said Robert Herbig, the Caldwell district's superintendent of schools. "This is our small part of trying to address a serious issue in the district."

Caldwell's concerns began in earnest in 1997, when several students were arrested for using and selling marijuana. A marijuana pipe was found in the school's shop area, a student stole a filtering flask from a science lab that he planned to sell for drug use and athletes allegedly used marijuana during a tournament.

This is how Caldwell's system works:

A Topeka lab draws from the pool of Caldwell students to randomly select those who should be tested, and the school nurse then obtains a sample and sends it back to Topeka for analysis. The lab, which tests for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, first notifies parents of positive tests and then notifies the school district.

In two years, Caldwell received roughly 10 positive tests -- two of them for cocaine, Herbig said.

The first time students are caught, they are suspended from two competition dates, required to submit to weekly tests for six weeks and also must attend a school-approved counseling program before regaining their eligibility.

The Bluestem district consulted with Caldwell as it created its own policy, said Dale Harper, principal of Bluestem High School. This fall, Bluestem will begin testing hair instead of urine samples. Hair has an advantage because drugs can be detected in the hair for up to 90 days, which means students must stay clean over the summer, Harper said. Those tested are athletes, drivers education participants and students who are volunteered by their parents.

"Obviously, I think it's made a great deal of difference," Harper said. "If there is a negative, it's that kids tend to turn back more to alcohol."

At Columbus, Superintendent Ken Jones said the district began considering a mandatory drug testing policy because of a strong suspicion of heavy drug activity in the community, particularly methamphetamine use. Drug dogs that searched lockers and cars detected drug residue. Three new school board members made implementing such a policy a priority at a goal-setting session last year.

The Columbus policy will kick off this fall after a year of study and two committee forums. It will work like this: Three to five students who participate in athletic and nonathletic extracurricular activities are subject to mandatory drug tests each week. A second pool of students who express interest in attending school dances at the beginning of the year will be tested every nine weeks.

Jones said many of the district's residents are subject to drug tests at work and are supportive of the policy.

"It appears they've given us the green light," Jones said.