Students may get drug tests

Granite Falls School Board to vote on screening policy for all
district's athletes

By Eric Stevick and John McDonald, Herald Writers

GRANITE FALLS Student athletes in the granite Falls
School District may be required to take drug tests beginning next
fall.
The Granite Falls School District has been considering a
drug test policy since March and the school board would vote on it
as early as July 24.
In doing so, Granite Falls could become the only public
school district in Snohomish County and one of a handful across the
state to require the urinalysis drugscreening procedure.
Granite Falls schools' superintendent Gary Wall started
considering the idea after hearing community concerns during a
series of neighborhood meetings. It wasn't a case of Granite Falls
being more druginfested than other areas but a desire to help the
district's young people, Wall said.
"Our (student survey) data on drug use shows we are about
the same as everywhere else but we don't like what it says," Wall
said Wednesday.
Wall said the policy, as it is now proposed, is meant to be
preventative and educational rather than disciplinary. Students who
test positive wouldn't be suspended from school.
They would be allowed to remain on the team and practice
but would be excluded from participating in athletic events for a
month. They would also be referred to a school drug and alcohol
counselor.
The district still has several unanswered questions. It
doesn't know if the tests would be random or given to all students.
Nor does it know how it will finance the program or if tests would be
given to middle school students.
If the district decides on the testing, it will have to decide
what to test for. There are three options, ranging from a $13.50 test
for marijuana, amphetamines and cocaine, to an $18.00 test for
nearly a dozen drugs and alcohol.
Wall categorizes public opinion into three groups: those
who support testing because they believe it will help and is fair for
students who already abide by athletic codes, those who believe it
will give students a reason to say not to drugs, and those who
oppose it, saying it unfairly singles out athletics and not other
activities.
Wall said the district is limiting the drug tests to athletes
because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that public schools
can require students to take drug tests a a condition of playing
sports. It did not extend its ruling to other activities, such as drama,
band and choir.
Mike Colbrese, executive director of the Washington
Interscholastic Activities Association, the governing body for high
school sports in the state, said his organization has no official policy
on drug testing for student athletes.
"We leave it up to the individual district," Colbrese said.
He could think of only four districts in the state which
conduct drug testing. He ranked them in order of aggressive to least
aggressive as BurlingtonEdison, Taholah, Orcas Island and Lewis
& Clark, which has voluntary testing.
In the BurlingtonEdison district, the drug policy includes
athletic and nonathletic activities, said Bob Penny, the district's
director of personnel and secondary programs.
"Even if it's challenged, we believe it's the right thing to do,"

Penny said.
"We really want the students to understand what
accountability means," he added.
"BurlingtonEdison has been contacted by many other
districts interested in its program," he said.
Cascade High School athletic director Terry Ennis said the
Everett School District has no drug testing policy.
"We're watching those that are doing that," Ennis said.
"Many are doing it by way of grants received."
He also mentioned the four districts named by Colbrese.
"I have not talked to any of those coaches directly," Ennis
said. "I've heard comments pro and con. Everybody is receptive to
coming up with a solution to drug and alcohol abuse. Part of it is the
money factor, very clearly."
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Public hearing

The Granite Falls School Board has set a public forum for 7 p.m.
July 22 in the high school multipurpose room, 405 N. Alder Ave., to hear
comments about a proposed drug testing policy for student athletes.
The board has discussed the issue for several months and is
anxious to hear from residents, said Gary Wall, the district's
superintendent.
Those who can't attend the forum can write P.O. Box 9, Granite
Falls 98252, or call the administration office at 3606917717.
The school board could vote on the measure as early as July 24.