COLLEAGUE TESTIFIES ABOUT LAX DRUG TESTING

A suspended Wayne vice principal, facing termination for failing to order a
student to undergo drug testing, had a history of not enforcing the
district's drug-testing policy, a school administrator testified Tuesday.

Detailed testimony by Victoria Musetti, the district's student assistant
specialist, proved to be the strongest yet against Joseph Graceffo, whom
the district is attempting to fire at an Administrative Law hearing.
Graceffo, of Wanaque, is accused of not heeding a Wayne Hills High School
teacher's request for drug testing of 11th-grader Nicholas Lucatorto even
though teachers said he smelled of marijuana smoke. Lucatorto died two
weeks later from a heroin overdose at an overnight house party, a tragedy
followed by an aggressive reinforcement of the school's drug-testing policy.

According to the district's policy, an administrator must order a
urinalysis for any student suspected of drug use. School officials have
said they have a "zero-tolerance" policy when deciding whether to order a
drug screening from students suspected of drug use.

Whether Graceffo acted differently from other administrators appears to be
at the heart of the case. School nurses have already testified that it was
the exception, not the rule, to automatically order drug tests for students
suspected of being under the influence.

On Tuesday, Musetti, who helped draft the district's original drug policy,
testified on behalf of the district that she cited Graceffo four times in
the past for either not ordering a screening for students suspected of drug
use or delaying it:

In 1991, while a vice principal at Wayne Valley High School, Graceffo and a
student were arguing in his office while Musetti was outside. The student
ran out, knocked papers off a desk, and bolted out of the school. Musetti
said she requested that the student be tested for drugs, but Graceffo
declined. The student "was aggressive. He was extremely angry. His face was
contorted," she said. "I thought he was high as a kite."

In 1994, a teacher at Wayne Valley referred three students, who had a
history of discipline problems, for drug testing. Graceffo decided to
require that two of the three be tested, saying he was unable to reach the
mother of one of the boys. Graceffo "said he had no intention of spending
the entire day in the E.R. [Emergency Room] with [the boy]," said Musetti.
"I said, 'But it's the law.' He said, 'Laws are meant to be broken.' "

In October 1995, a student who was known to have used drugs was referred to
Graceffo for testing. The student wasn't tested until a few days later
after Musetti complained to the principal and teachers union. Graceffo's
inaction kept "a student in our building lighting ovens in home-ec
[economics class] and drilling holes in shop," she said.

In November 1996, a 15-year-old sophomore was believed to be under the
influence as the school day ended. Musetti referred it to another vice
principal, Mary Jane Tierney, who handled problems with sophomores.
Tierney, on her way out of school, asked Musetti to tell Graceffo to handle
it first thing the next morning. Musetti said she left a message with
Graceffo's secretary, but the boy wasn't removed from school until 12:30
p.m. the next day. He wasn't tested until three days later when his father
brought the student back to school. On cross-examination, Graceffo's
attorney, Robert Schwartz, argued that Graceffo had been the only
administrator in the building that morning and was consumed by running the
school.

Schwartz, who has already pointed out what he said were numerous
inconsistencies with the way Wayne's drug testing policy is practiced since
the hearings began in October, again tried to poke holes in the measure
Tuesday.

In addition to a cursory physical exam by a nurse of a student suspected of
drug use, the policy requires the student be examined by a physician.
Musetti testified that this is almost always not followed.

Musetti said she has talked with Gary Hall, the district's personnel
director who helps revise the drug-testing policy, about making it a part
of the practice. But she testified that Hall said as long as the student's
life was not threatened, a doctor need not be called.

"I disagreed with that," she said.

Last month, Susan Ammerman, a physical education teacher at Wayne Hills,
testified that on Jan. 21, she had smelled marijuana on Lucatorto and
noticed that his pupils were dilated. Two school nurses who examined him
later testified that his eyes were normal and he smelled only of cigarette
smoke.

While the nurses were performing their examination, Graceffo phoned
Lucatorto's mother to tell her about the incident. Lucatorto's mother
informed Graceffo that her son had been sick with the flu and was on
prescription medication. Graceffo decided not to order a urinalysis.

The next morning, Robert Flower, head of the physical education department,
reported to Graceffo that he smelled marijuana on Lucatorto that day.
Schwartz has maintained that Graceffo thought Flower was referring to the
incident with Ammerman and assured Flower the matter had already been
"taken care of."

Ammerman, who said she had been ostracized by some teachers loyal to
Graceffo, recently retired. Judge Mumtaz Bari-Brown said she has received
several letters from teachers voicing support for Graceffo. The hearing was
to continue today.