DRUG TESTING

School Board to hold special meeting about drug testing students at
Mitchell High School

The Mitchell County Board of Education made a goal on Jan. 15 to
eliminate illicit drug use at the high school.

They offered proof at their regular session on Feb. 16 that they are
serious about making this happen.

The board voted unanimously to set up a special session with its legal
counsel to determine which students are to be included and what the
system can afford.

The projected date of the meeting, which will be open to the public,
is Monday, March 2.

The board is aiming to broaden the current policy, that only tests
athletes, to include students who drive to school and those that are
involved in extracurricular activities.

"If we change the policy to include students in extracurricular
activities and those that drive a car to school, that will take care
of 90 percent of the student body," Board Member Jeff Harding said.

And legally, the board can expand the policy.

In 2002, the Supreme Court upheld in Board of Education v. Earls that
random drug testing of students who participate in extracurricular
activities does not violate the Fourth Amendment protection against
unreasonable search and seizure.

Furthermore, many states, including North Carolina, have made it
applicable under this ruling for schools to test students who drive to
school.

The change would mean a drastic shift from the present total of
students tested. Right now, only a portion of the athletes at the high
school are tested.

"I tested 20 percent of the athletes involved in Fall sports," said Ed
Duncan, athletic director at Mitchell High. "I test around 25 percent
of all the athletes a year, and since I have been AD, I have not had
an athlete test positive."

However, these numbers can be deceiving.

Associate Superintendent Rick Spurling told the board that during the
2007-2008 school year 17 students in the county were reported for
possessing a controlled substance: two at Bowman Middle School, eight
at Harris Middle School, and seven at Mitchell High School.

But statistics aside, the one thing that will decide the level of
testing is money.

Each drug screen costs $35. These tests detect common drugs such as
marijuana and cocaine and prescription pain medications that have
hydro codeine in it such as percocet and valium.

Superintendent Brock Womble said the school has allocated $2,500 this
year for athletic drug screenings. Next year, the school system plans
to budget $5,000 for screenings. That would roughly buy 140 drug tests.

The high school has approximately 670 students and to test every
student once it would cost over $23,000. With these daunting costs the
board stills feels this is something that needs to be done.

"We do have a problem, but we are willing to do something about it,
and we will," Harding said. "Even if we don't make a large statistical
impact, we will save one kid."

And saving kids was another hot topic for discussion at the
meeting.

Community members and school administration and staff all agreed that
if a student did test positive it would only be right to help them.

"If we are going to get serious about helping people, we need to be
serious about treatment options," Duncan said. "There is no use of a
drug policy if there is no treatment component in place."

At the moment, if an athlete fails a test, they are suspended from
play and must undergo a minimum of three weeks of counseling.

This is half the length of the treatment program offered at Alpha
Omega, the local substance abuse center.

Taking on a school wide testing policy would require more
resources.

School administration said they have reached out to local churches,
but they said they do not think it is their responsibility. Plus,
Alpha Omega has a waiting list of over 200 people.

"We need more services to offer to those who do have a problem, and
there are not that many in the community," Duncan said.

One thing the board is certain of is this is a problem that needs
action, not more discussion.

"We have hashed over this forever, and I am tired of hashing over it,"
Board Member Dean Myers said. "I am ready to take action."