CONCERNS VOICED AT DRUG FORUM

The proposal to randomly drug test Siskiyou Union High School
District students was brought before the public last night at two
public forums held at Weed High School and Mount Shasta High School.

Hosted by principals Jim Cox and Mike Matheson, the forums' goals
were to give the community a chance to weigh in on the controversial issue.

The proposal to begin the random drug testing of all athletes, pep
squad members and elected student officials is on the agenda of the
SUHSD board's next meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

If the proposal is adopted, random swab testing would be implemented
for the upcoming 2006-2007 school year.

Addressing the low turnout consisting of a handful of parents,
Matheson said that this was "a real important topic" and that "we
all have the same goals in mind."

"We want to make sure that the conversation is being held," he said.
"All ideas are important. All thoughts are important."

Onhand to hear those ideas and thoughts were SUHSD president George
Winkleman, SUHSD superintendent Dick Holmes and Happy Camp High
School principal Ernie Micheli.

Matheson said that his decision to pursue the proposal stemmed from
"a variety of incidents over the past two years," such as one where
he watched "successful teams self-destruct."

Other times, he said, staff would catch students in the act or
respond to rumors or phone calls from parents by conducting investigations.

Matheson said that method created an air of suspicion that he didn't
believe was healthy.

"As a staff, we want to be as helpful as possible," Matheson said.
"It's not okay for us to go as we're going. But if we don't have
your support, we're not going to be successful."

Some parents in attendance agreed with Matheson in theory, if not in practice.

Anne Hinchcliff, whose son will be a senior at WHS this year,
believed the old adage "honesty is the best policy" might be the answer.

"We can't make it "us versus them,'" she said. "I don't think
holding these kids in a constant cloud of suspicion will do any
good. It's all about honesty."

Hinchcliff went on to describe an incident in which her son and
others had to "babysit" another student who had had too much to
drink at a party.

She said the fact that her son was able to talk with her about the
incident was a positive she feared would be lost if drug tests are
implemented.

She also said that "the alcohol problem is huge" and the that the
testing might encourage students to abuse it, alluding to the fact
that the tests connot detect alcohol.

The proposed random testing would screen for amphetamines, cocaine,
methamphetamines, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP) and THC (the key
chemical in marijuana. Alcohol passes through the body too quickly
and therefore cannot be detected by a random test, Matheson explained.

Hinchcliff said that students might just say, "I'll have a drink instead."

"In my research, I don't see how it's helped," she said.

Hinchcliff went on to suggest that "pride bracelets" resembling
Lance Armstrong's popular "Livestrong" bracelets be passed out to
the students.

"Let's make it a thing of pride," she said. "Maybe they can point to
it and say, "I'm not going to have a drink."

Matheson said that the drug testing would be "just one piece" of a
comprehensive program that schools would implent such as personal
training programs where students review the effect of drugs and alcohol.

Weed Elementary School Board member Jalene Fobis, who has two sons
attending high school, believed that the drug testing is just a fact of life.

She said she worked in a job where pre-screening and random drug
testing was the norm.

"High school is supposed to prepare these kids for life," she said.
"Well, that's the reality."

Fobis' concern about the program was about what would happen if and
when students are positively tested. She feared students' being
ostracized and said, "we have to find a positive way to change that."

Matheson responded that students who test positive would be
ineligible to participate in their sport of activity for two to
three weeks and would be required to undergo several hours of
counseling before being able to return. If they chose not to return
to the sport or activity, they would be encouraged to attend the
counseling anyway, Matheson said.

SUHSD Superintendent Dick Holmes reviewed the chemical awareness
programs the district had tried over the years and had come to the
conclusion that "they were not enough."

Holmes believes the random drug testing will strengthen the
students' refusal skills, saying that students respond to peer
pressure by saying, "No, I'm not going to do this because I might be tested.'"

Holmes also mentioned that he determined his opinion from who "have
gone down the testing path," citing that the schools he researched
that started drug testing have never discontinued their programs.
Holmes mentioned one school in particular, Fall River High School,
saying that they have never had to remove a student since their program began.

Hinchcliff brought up the possibility that students' Constitutional
rights under the Fourth Amendment might be violated under with the testing.

But Holmes responded, "We already have drug dogs on campus. That
could be seen as a violation. We also use Breathalyzers at dances," he said.

"I'm not a proponent of drug testing," Holmes said. "But I am for
the well-being of our students. Doing nothing is worse than doing
something like drug testing. But we want to be careful. Move carefully."

Matheson said he didn't know how the board would vote on Wednesday
but that a decision of some sort would be made, if not for the testing.

He mentioned a Mt. Shasta mother who proposed a task force be formed
to study what might be most effective.

Holmes also mentioned a national study in which the schools were
looking into that seeked to determine whether drug testing was
affective or not as a possible solution.

Matheson thanked the parents for their input and invited them to
Wednesday's meeting to again give their input.

"This is a good thing," Hinchcliff said. " I think you should know
we're on the same page."

At the forum's close, an underlying issue was touched on by Fobis
who said, "I think the fact that we have 210 students at this school
and only five parents says a lot."