SCHOOL BOARD OKS LOCKER SEARCHES BY POLICE DOGS

Troubled by what it perceives as an increase in drug use by students, the
West Allis-West Milwaukee School Board will begin allowing police dogs to
search student lockers after Jan. 1. Superintendent Philip Sobocinski said
the random searches, planned first for the district's high schools and
middle schools, are intended to dissuade students from bringing drugs onto
school property.

"My hope is that they do one of these searches and they find nothing,"
Sobocinski said.

A number of Wisconsin school districts have employed police K-9 units for
drug searches in recent years - Brown Deer, Port Washington, and Germantown
among them.

West Allis police had pitched the idea to local school officials a few
years ago, but it was rejected. Sobocinski, who allowed the searches as
superintendent in the Monona Grove School District, was open to the idea
when he assumed leadership of the West Allis-West Milwaukee district in
August.

Pat Kerhin, president of the West Allis-West Milwaukee School Board, said
board members were motivated in part by the comments of high schoolers made
during meetings in October to discuss the formation of a youth commission.

"A number of kids expressed concern (about drugs in the schools), asking,
'What can you do to stop this? We're coming here to learn,' " she said.

"We have to address what seems to be an increase in marijuana use. They
don't seem to have any fear of bringing it into our schools."

Sobocinski said school officials are frustrated, as well, by the loss of
instructional time for students expelled for drug use or possession.

"Like many school districts, we've adopted a zero tolerance for drug use
and possession in our buildings," he said. "We've had a number of
expulsions this year for possession, and it's frustrating that these kids
are missing out on their education."

Seven students were expelled from West Allis-West Milwaukee schools during
the first semester, five for drug possession, Sobocinski said. Last year,
the district had 11 drug-related expulsions, more than double the total
number of expulsions for all offenses in the 1997-'98 school year,
according to the district.

Although the prevalence of drugs in the schools is difficult to gauge,
juvenile drug arrests have risen dramatically in West Allis in recent years.

According to the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance in Madison, West
Allis police made 118 juvenile drug arrests in 1998, up 237% over the 35 it
made in 1994. That compares with a 54% increase in juvenile drug arrests
for Milwaukee County overall during the same period.