SUHSD PLANS PUBLIC FORUMS ON DRUG TESTING

Weed and Mount Shasta High Schools will hold public forums hosted by
the school's principals on the issue of drug testing students on
Monday, August 7th at 7 p.m. at both campuses.

The issue is also on the Siskiyou Union High School board meeting
agenda for the August 9th meeting, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at McCloud
High School.

WHS principal Mike Matheson and MSHS principal Jim Cox have proposed
drug testing for athletes, student body officers and pep squad
members. The board has voted 6-1, with trustee Lori Harch dissenting,
to approve a first reading of the proposal.

"We're looking to putting the issue before the public," said SUHSD
superintendent Richard Holmes. "We're not wedded to drug testing. We
want to look at all avenues to support kids in their refusal skills."

Citizens have objected to the proposal at previous SUHSD board
meetings on various grounds including violation of constitutional
search and seizure protections, whether such a program is really a
deterrent and whether the testing is equitable as it tests a narrow
range of students.

Proponents say the testing would offer students an opportunity to say
no to drugs and head off potentially serious drug problems.

The proposal calls for random testing of the target group with an oral
swab that tests for amphetamines, cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates,
PCP and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Students found in violation would be subject to suspension from
participating for various periods of time, depending on whether it is
a first, second or third offense. A third offense would result in the
student being suspended from that activity for their entire high
school career.

Refusal to take the test or tampering with the test would be treated
as a positive result. A second analysis of the same sample would be
performed if the test comes back positive.

Parent agreement with the policy is necessary for a student to
participate in athletics. The schools already have similar rules in
place for using illegal drugs, but without the testing.

The proposal says there would be no notification to law enforcement of
test results and that students refusing to participate in the
counseling program would be suspended from the extracurricular
activity. A source of funds to perform and analyze the tests has not
been established that Holmes said is approximately $25 per test.