SANGER ISD PURSUES NEW DRUG TESTING POLICY

Sanger -- It's full stream ahead for the Sanger Independent School
District in its pursuit of urinalysis for student-athletes.

The second of three readings of a new mandatory drug-testing policy is
slated for the upcoming July 11 monthly meeting for the Sanger ISD
board of trustees. The board approved the first reading during last
month's meeting.

Superintendent Jack Biggerstaff said the meeting will be open to the
public and will be an opportunity for concerned school patrons to
voice their opinions for or against it.

The policy, if approved, would go into effect either when class
resumes in August or shortly thereafter, making Sanger the first
Denton County high school to require drug testing of its athletes.

Affected would be all Sanger students in grades 7-12 who participate
in extracurricular activities, including University Interscholastic
League competition, drill teams, band, and cheerleading.

"Our initial plan is that all students who have declared to
participate will be tested at the beginning of the school year,"
Biggerstaff said. "After that point, we anticipate testing a certain
number randomly each month."

Sanger's drug proposal states the consequences of a positive drug
test:

*First offense: a counseling assessment and ineligibility from
extracurricular activities until the assessment is completed;

*Second offense: a ban from activities for 45 calendar days, effective
from the test date;

*Third offense: a one-year ban from activities, effective from the
test date.

On each occurance, a second test may be run at the expense of the
student's parents or guardians, and a parent/guardian meeting would be
required. Also, refusal to submit would carry the same penalties as a
positive test.

All together, Biggerstaff estimated that anywhere from 800 to 1,000
samples would be tested each year, either at the initial drug
screening at the start of the school year or for random testing afterward.

Biggerstaff said he has been exploring a contract with a Houston
drug-testing company, Accuracy Testing Plus, and said that even with
more costly testing for anabolic steroids, the cost per analysis for
Sanger schools would be less than $15.

"That's providing we deliver the samples ourselves," Biggerstaff said.
"If the lab provides the personnel, the costs go way up. Our nurses,
coaches and sponsors would be responsible for taking the samples, then
we would ship them to the lab."

Urine samples would be sent to an approved laboratory, where alcohol,
amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, opiates, marijuana, and several
other illegal or addictive drugs, including anabolic steroids, would
be tested for.

"We've won the state powerlifting championship two years in a row,"
Biggerstaff said, "so we get a lot of accusations of steroid use
thrown our way. This will help refute those accusations."

Biggerstaff said he thinks the drug policy, as worded now, would be
unanimously accepted by the board, and that he welcomes input from
concerned parents.

He cited a student survey that indicated that 87.9 percent at Sanger
High knew of other students who used illegal drugs, and 93.3 percent
knew of other students who consumed alcohol.

The same survey was more divided on the issue of testing.

Sanger students, when asked if they believed a testing program would
make a difference, said "no" 54.8 percent of the time to 45.2 percent
"yes," while students responded negatively by a 53.5-to-46.5 percent
margin when asked if they believed a testing program was needed at
Sanger.

Elsewhere in the Metroplex area, urinalysis has been approved by a
select few schools in the Metroplex area, most notably in Arlington,
Azle, Howe and Farmersville.