CARMEL SCHOOLS PUSHING DRUG TEST

Mixed Reaction From Students And Parents

Parents and students at Carmel High School don't deny drugs exist.

During after-school study sessions or weekend parties, someone may
tote a 40-ounce container of beer or a bag of weed into the room.

Last year, district administrators instituted a voluntary random
drug testing program hoping it would help students and parents talk
about drugs and alcohol.

Students and parents are asked to sign a form indicating students
choose to be tested randomly during the school year. Results are
sent to the parents and aren't shared with school officials. The
program is available to students at Carmel High School and
to eighth-graders at Carmel Middle School.

But while administrators have high hopes for the program, some
students think the district's approach is a waste of time.

John, a 17-year-old student who admits using marijuana, said his
parents know about his occasional smoking and are against the program.

"I smoke weed before I fall asleep sometimes, so I'm not staying up
til all hours," he said.

John, interviewed at a Carmel beach, said he believes the money
spent on the drug program would be better spent on academic programs.

But district administrators defend the program.

"The two main intents for the program is to give kids a reason to
say, 'no,'" said Paul Behan, coordinator of technology and special
projects for Carmel Unified. "We did it to help them have a
conversation with their parents or to trigger a conversation with
their parents."

Behan said the district has set up the system with a drug-testing
company to ensure confidentiality. Students are given a code number
when they take the test and the code numbers are sent to the testing
laboratory.

"The school doesn't get the code number," Behan said.

When parents confirm they have seen the results, the results are destroyed.

Although the program is random and voluntary, some students might
feel pressured to sign up.

"If your parents ask why you aren't signed up, they think you're
doing drugs," said a 16-year-old girl, who unwillingly signed up for
the program and declined to give her name. "Now, if you're at a
party, you're going to drink more because you can't smoke (marijuana)."

One mother, who declined to give her name, said it would be more
beneficial for a drug-testing kit to be sent home with students
during the first week of school. The process would ensure
confidentiality. Parents would have the option to use the test or toss it.

She said she purchased drug-testing kits and tested her children.
She said her son pleaded to be tested so he could tell friends his
mother was testing and would have to refuse drugs and alcohol at parties.

"It is tough for kids to get all the way through high school and not
get tempted," she said.

Behan said sometimes parents who intend to use the test may not know
what to do when results come back.

He said parents who receive positive results from the test company
can call through the agency and get referrals or go to a local
behavioral health services program to find a counselor.

School administrators haven't heard comments from parents who
received information in their back-to-school packet in August.

"It has been flying under the radar," said Karl Pallastrini, Carmel
High's principal. "As principal, I haven't heard a word."

Pallastrini noted that a little more than 200 students signed up for
the program.

An advantage of the program is that the school isn't involved in
testing and plays host to the company taking the urine samples.

"It is very user friendly," he said.

Response at Carmel Middle School has been slow. Six of the 180
eighth-graders have signed up and only 45 of them returned the form.

Response was lukewarm during a PTA meeting at the school last year.

"Many middle school parents see them as children through the eighth
grade and not teenagers," said Edmund Gross, principal. "Middle
school kids are seen as a younger group not involved in drugs and alcohol."

According to a statewide survey by the California Attorney General's
Office, the highest percentage of students using drugs and alcohol
is in the 11th grade. The 11th biennial California Student Survey,
released Wednesday, showed that drug and alcohol use in 2005 and
2006 is relatively low.

The statewide study revealed that students who drink are heavy
drinkers. Excessive alcohol use was reported by 27 percent of
11th-graders, 14 percent of ninth-graders, and 5.5 percent of
seventh-graders. It showed that heavy or high-risk drug use was
reported by 17 percent of 11th-graders, 11 percent
of ninth-graders, and four percent of seventh-graders.

Excessive alcohol was defined as drinking to get drunk or binge
drinking. Heavy drug use was defined as using multiple drugs, weekly
or daily marijuana use, or using cocaine and crack.

The program at Carmel Unified School District is expected to cost
the district from $3,000 to $5,000. The program will be reviewed by
trustees later this year to determine if it should continue.

Drug testing Students in Carmel Unified School District who have
signed up for the random voluntary drug testing program: 8th-graders
- -- 6 9th-graders -- 61 10th-graders -- 66 11th-graders -- 48
12th-graders -- 37