OF 550 HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES DRUG-TESTED IN BULLITT, ONE WAS POSITIVE

Only one Bullitt County high school student tested positive for
drugs last school year, though nearly 550 tests were given.

"It's great news," said Jaime Goldsmith, the district's director of
safe and drug-free schools. "It dispels some of those rumors that
it's running rampant."

Last year was the first for Bullitt's random drug-testing program.
Athletes from Bullitt Central and Bullitt East high school were
randomly selected to participate.

The urine tests screen for marijuana, amphetamines, steroids,
ecstasy, hydrosol, PCP, methadone, barbiturates, benzodiaphine (such
as Xanax), opiates, cocaine, propoxyphene (in painkillers such as
Darvon) and alcohol.

The one positive test was for alcohol, Goldsmith said.

This year, all middle and high school students in the district will
undergo drug tests if they play a sport or participate in a
competitive extracurricular group. School board members voted to
expand the testing program in March.

Parents whose children don't play sports or participate in
competitive activities can also have them tested by entering them
into the "volunteer pool," Goldsmith said.

There are penalties for testing positive. Students who fail the
tests must sit out 20 percent of the season and pass another drug
test before returning, Goldsmith said. After a second failure, the
student must miss the whole season and be tested each month for a year.

Student who fail a third time are banned from competitive programs
for the rest of their middle or high school careers.

Students who fail any tests also must undergo drug counseling.

The tests are conducted at school, and there is no cost to parents
or students unless they fail two tests, Goldsmith said.

The testing program is funded through a study grant from the
National Center for Education Evaluation. Bullitt is one of 36
school systems in the country involved in the study that is designed
to determine if testing prevents drug use among students.

In exchange for participating, Bullitt schools are receiving
$140,000 a year for five years.

Bullitt East's principal, Debby Atherton, said she was not surprised
by last year's test results.

"The fact that testing exists is a deterrent," Atherton said. "
… It gives students a reason to say no to their peers."

Ryan McClure, 16, agrees that testing is a deterrent and believes
everyone should be tested. Ryan, a Bullitt East junior, plays
baseball and said he was randomly picked twice to be tested last year.

He said he didn't feel like the testing process was intrusive.

"The test really isn't a big deal," Ryan said. "It felt really
secure. You shouldn't be worried about it anyway if you don't do drugs."

Last year, some of the drug testing was done in a district trailer,
but this year the tests will be conducted in school bathrooms, Goldsmith said.

"The bathrooms are closed off when the testing is done, and students
are given privacy," she said. "We want to be serious about the
testing but we're not out to embarrass students."

Kayla Alcorn, 16, said she was happy to hear about the results from last year.

"It just shows that none of us really are doing anything wrong,"
Kayla said. A Bullitt East junior, Kayla swims for the school and
said she was pulled once last year for drug testing.

"It was in an RV at our school and there were other athletes there
too," she said. "It really wasn't a big deal."

Kayla has a younger sister in one of the district middle schools,
and she might be tested this year because she wants to run track, Kayla said.

"I do think that it's kind of funny that the middle schoolers will
be tested -- they're so little," she said. "I guess it is out there
for them too though, so it's good that they're tested. It just helps
to make sure we're doing the right things."

Jana Pruitt, who has a son, Logan, at Bullitt East this year and a
daughter, Olivia, at Eastside Middle School, said she had no
problems with the drug testing. Both of her children play sports.

"What does a drug test hurt?" Pruitt said. "Unless you're afraid of
the results, I don't understand why it would be a problem."