DRUG TESTING GETS PASSING GRADE

One GHS Student Tests Positive in First Group of 24

GALESBURG -- Drug testing is in full-swing in District 205, and
although only one student has tested positive for drug use, nearly
all the feedback administrators have received has been on the plus side.

Galesburg High School joined thousands across the country in August
when it began testing students participating in athletics,
extracurriculars and co-curricular activities. The latter category
includes band and choir -- classes taken for a grade but with
practices outside regular school hours. As of Wednesday, 24 GHS
students from a pool of 985 have been tested. The one student who
tested positive is receiving help, Superintendent Gene Denisar said
earlier this month.

"I'm pleased with the feedback we've received," said Diane
VanHootegem, 205 director for human resources. "That's not to say
some aren't complaining. I'm sure they are. I just haven't heard it."

In a June survey available on the district's Web site, 57 percent of
GHS seniors who voted were in favor of the new policy, which was
approved later that month. Of those surveyed, 43 percent were against
drug testing.

Students appeared to be similarly split Thursday. Some weren't even
sure of the details behind the testing.

"I don't like it. I don't think it's needed," said Santino Melgosa, a
junior at GHS, who will be eligible for testing in the spring when he
plays baseball. "They don't always do it in bigger cities, so why here?"

Meanwhile other students viewed it -- not unlike the school -- as
another reason to say "no" to drugs.

"I think they should test us. Why would you want to do drugs when you
need to stay focused on athletics?" said junior Rogeria Ferguson.

Many students couldn't understand why only certain people were tested.

"If they do it for sports and other activities, they should drug-test
everybody," said Jacob Schwieter, a sophomore on the golf team.

VanHootegem reiterated what was told to the public when the issue was
raised this summer when the board voted 4-1, with two absences, to
approve the policy at GHS.

"The courts do not give such latitudes to schools regarding the
entire student body," she said. "A right to an education is just
that, a right. Students have a choice in participating in
extracurricular activities."

None of the GHS students who were against the new policy planned to
question the testing.

"That's just my opinion. One of the many," Melgosa said. "I'm not worried."

In October, the school board discussed expanding the program to the
junior high schools, something Denisar and some board members
appeared to favor.

How Testing Works

Each week, a computer randomly selects five eligible students for
testing. Four will be tested. The fifth student serves as an
alternate in case one of the first four is absent.

(An absent student won't avoid the test for long. He is tested
immediately upon returning to the school.)

The four chosen are escorted by either the athletic or activities
director to the school nurse's office.

Once there, students take a urine test administered by a Galesburg
Cottage Hospital employee.

Each week begins a new testing cycle so all 986 names are eligible.

In the event of a student's refusal to take the test, the district's
outline of the policy states: "It will be deemed a positive result
and appropriate consequences will be imposed."

Parents are immediately notified of a positive drug test while a
negative (drug-free) test results in a "congratulatory" letter sent
to the family.

Consequences of a positive test vary based on the offense,
VanHootegem said. An athlete's first-time positive test would result
in his suspension for one third of a season.

The district chose to test students in the nurse's office rather than
at an independent site because it didn't want them to miss too much
class time. Beyond location, the district's only involvement in the
tests is through the escort to the nurse and the other employee who
operates the computer that selects student's names.

More information available on GHS's Web site, www.streaks.org, under
the secondary code of conduct tab.

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DRUG TESTING BY THE NUMBERS

72 percent (985 out of 1,368 total students) of the high school is
eligible for testing due to participation in extracurricular and
co-curricular activities

24 students have been tested as of Oct. 21.

One has tested positive.