BEER-SNIFFING DOGS HAVE CLASS

PASADENA -- Golden retrievers with a nose for marijuana, beer and other
contraband will inspect the classrooms of Washington Learning Center and
Pasadena High School this fall, thanks to a school board vote on Tuesday.

The board voted 3-1, with board member Bonnie Armstrong opposed, to add the
drug-sniffing dogs to the two schools as part of a three-month, $10,000
pilot program.

"When people transfer out of the district, one of the first things they say
is, safe campuses -- they want their kids to be on a safe campus," said
board president Jackie Jacobs, moments before voting for the program.

Board member Tommy McMullins concurred, saying his views on school safety
have been shaped by the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colo.
that left 15 people dead. "I'd rather be in a position to say we did
everything we could to protect kids," McMullins said, "Rather than have
remorseful thoughts of 'Why didn't I do something extra?' "

Under the proposal, students will be asked at random intervals to leave
their backpacks in their classrooms so that the dogs may search for
substances or ammunition. The animals, which are already used in schools in
Temple City and Alhambra, are capable of detecting beer in a can encased in
the trunk of a car.

Opponents of the drug-sniffing dogs, including parents and students, said
the animals will erode an atmosphere of trust at each school.

"My deep concern here is, how much is enough?" asked Pasadena High School
parent Jim Bower. "We have metal detectors, security officers, patrols of
the parking lots. Now we have dogs. We should seriously weigh the effect on
kids of having these things in school."

If the program is expanded districtwide, Pasadena Unified School District
will join Temple City and Alhambra school districts in using the dogs. The
dogs are trained not to inspect students, but rather sniff possessions left
behind in rooms, said PUSD Chief of Police Jarado Blue.

"The idea of canine detection searches is not to find contraband and take
kids to jail," he said. "It's sending a message to would-be dope dealers who
want to distribute and sell narcotics that he or she faces a high risk of
being found out."

School officials say the new program will be needed if the district moves
forward with a plan to reopen lockers at its various schools. However, the
one school with lockers, Wilson Middle School, will not take part in the
pilot program.

Wilson's PTA sent a letter to the school board asking that their school be
included in the program if it is expanded next semester. However, two
Pasadena High School students countered that the drug-sniffing dogs will
make their school feel even more like a juvenile detention center.

"When you see the metal detectors, you don't feel uplifted or that you're
here to learn," said 16-year-old Leah Vega. "You don't feel a sense of
pride."

Board members Lisa Fowler and Jackie Jacobs said they were responding to
complaints from other students about drugs and weapons on campus. But
Armstrong said she felt that two students were representative of the larger
student body.

"I did not receive a single call from a parent that wanted this, except for
the letter from the PTA, and that school isn't even being considered here,"
she said.