Teachers must live up to contract agreed to

Professor Richard Miller may be an emeritus scholar of law, but his
math is seriously skewed to fit his view of random drug testing of
public school teachers.

Using his figures, there were 13,404 educators eligible to vote in the
union contract ratification; 8,449 cast their ballots (63 percent),
4,955 did not vote (37 percent), 5,176 out of 8,449 voted "yes" (61.26
percent). 3,273 voted "no" (38.74 percent). His figure of 43 percent
of eligible voters is irrelevant because the 4,955 who chose to not
vote gave up their rights to be heard in this argument.

Had they voted, they may have reversed the results to favor the HSTA's
stance.

Their objection on constitutional grounds should have been brought up
before the vote. He and the HSTA maintain that randomly drug testing
teachers is a threat to basic rights. What about parents' rights of
assurances that those entrusted with the education of their children
will be drug free and examples of good citizenship? That good
citizenship encompasses living up to a contract entered into and
agreed upon by all parties concerned.

J.F. CHOO

Honolulu