COST MAY STOP FIELDCREST DRUG TEST PLAN

MINONK -- The cost of testing could keep Fieldcrest School District
from implementing a random drug-testing policy currently under review.

The policy only would be used to determine who's eligible to try out
and participate in competitive extracurricular activities.

"Several people I talked to thought this was a step in the right
direction," said board President Joe Kirkpatrick. "To move the bar a
little bit and have higher expectations."

The proposed policy says the district would pay for all initial
random tests or any additional reliability testing and that any
retesting or additional testing would be paid for by parents or guardians.

But "I do not believe we would implement it unless we would get funds
from another source to do so," said Superintendent Randy Vincent.
"But, it's also my belief that if the board adopts the policy and
that parents and kids are required to sign off, that in itself will
prevent some kids from making bad choices -- whether we test one,
none, or 100."

The district would talk to either the Boosters' Club or another group
to see if it would donate money for the tests.

The district wants to stop the use of prohibited substances, not find
a way to punish a student in addition to disqualification from
extracurricular activities.

"The whole idea behind this is preventions," said Vincent. "it's to
give them (students) another reason to say 'no.' "

Students and parents would have to agree to allow the student to be
tested before the student would be allowed to participate in
extracurricular activities.

Students in grades 7-12 could be selected at random throughout the
school year, regardless of the season of their activity.

Any positive test without proper medical documentation would require
a follow-up test after a suspension is served or after the substance
normally would be eliminated from the body.

The district could re-test the student anytime during the year.