MOST IN SURVEY BACK RANDOM DRUG TESTING

McKinney Parents, Staff, Students Respond

McKINNEY - Random drug testing of students has the support of a majority of
parents, students and school district employees in McKinney, according to a
recent survey.

Respondents were asked whether they supported or opposed the district's
randomly testing students for drug use - with parents' permission.

Eighty-two percent of parents and 86 percent of staff members responding
favored such a program, as did 62 percent of the students.

The district is not making an effort to implement a drug-testing program in
McKinney, but the survey gave officials an opportunity to gauge the
public's sentiment about it, said McKinney Independent School District
spokeswoman Diana Gulotta.

Ms. Gulotta said the question about drug testing was appropriate in light
of the heroin problem in Plano. The Allen school district began a program
this year in which middle and high school students are randomly tested for
drugs at parents' request.

"We felt it was timely," she said.

The question was in an attitude survey conducted by Raymond Turco &
Associates in September. It was similar to a survey done in 1996.

The results of the survey, which had a response rate of 29 percent, were
presented to trustees recently.

Officials said the survey, which is also broken down for individual
schools, is used to help identify areas that the district can improve upon
and to track progress.

"The survey results help us look at the priorities of our customers so we
can better address the needs of our students, parents and staff,"
Superintendent Jack Cockrill said.

Students surveyed were in the eighth and 11th grades. The district received
surveys from 3,348 people.

Parents and students generally gave the district high marks. Seventy-nine
percent of parents and 68 percent of students gave the McKinney district an
overall grade of an A or B - a drop of one percentage point for each group
from 1996.

Ms. Gulotta said that the district was pleased with the ratings but that
there is always room to improve.

Parents and staffers cited crowding and growth as the most critical issues
to be relayed to the incoming superintendent. David Anthony is to assume
the job in mid-January.

Twenty-four percent of parents listed crowding and growth as most critical,
compared with 32 percent in 1996. Thirty-eight percent of employees did so
vs. 49 percent in 1996.

Ms. Gulotta said a reason for the lower numbers may be last year's approval
of an $89.6 million bond package to address enrollment growth.

Students also cited crowding and growth as a concern but identified other
issues as more crucial. These included teacher-related matters; gangs; and
alcohol and other drugs.

The survey also found that parents would support a bond election in the
future to build schools to address crowding. Ninety-four percent expressed
such support, compared with 90 percent in 1996.

Ms. Gulotta said trustees are scheduled to discuss the survey results
further at a retreat in January.

Checked-by: Richard Lake