PERRY TECH STUDENTS FACE NEW TEST -- A DRUG TEST

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A graduate of Perry Technical Institute's
instrumentation program can land a job at an oil refinery earning as
much $92,000 a year with overtime.

But with such pay comes tremendous responsibility. One small mistake
in calibrating pressure or temperature can cost lives, said Tony Nirk,
who heads the Instrumentation & Industrial Automation Technology Department.

"The problems would be catastrophic," he said.

To help ensure these mistakes don't happen, Perry Tech implemented a
random drug-testing policy for its students and staff last week.

"We want to make sure our graduates meet the high standards of the
industry and that they are safe on campus," said school President
Christine Cote. "We aren't trying to catch them with anything. We want
to help them."

Administrators began talking about the need for a drug-testing policy
a few years ago, but were uncomfortable with it since pre-employment
drug screening wasn't as prevalent as it is now, Cote said.

"It took the industry employers coming forward strongly (saying) that
they wanted this," Cote said. "That's what made the change."

What's also changed is the number of schools that conduct testing.
Cote knew of none a few years ago. No one keeps records on how many
schools have adopted drug testing, but it is being conducted at a few
trade schools in the state, including the International Air &
Hospitality Academy in Vancouver.

Perry Tech -- a private school that doesn't receive tax dollars -- has
more flexibility than public schools to create such a policy.

Students and staff were told about the plan in early July. Overall,
Cote said the testing has been met with approval. It enhances a policy
already in place, which enables the school to administer drug tests if
there's reasonable suspicion someone is using.

With the policy, Cote said students are being prepared for the reality
of the work force, since many industries already require
pre-employment drug tests.

"If they can't pass those tests, they aren't going to get hired," she
said.

Under the program, the school's 70 employees and 600 students will be
assigned numbers. Each year, 10 percent of the numbers will be drawn
and those holding them will be escorted to a secure restroom to give a
urine sample to be screened for a wide array of drugs.

Results should be available to school administrators the following
day.

If results are positive for drugs, Cote said the school will help
those people get treatment. People will be expelled or fired only if
they refuse to enter a mandatory drug rehabilitation program, she said.

The cost is $40 per test -- or about $3,000 a year -- which will be
paid for by the school.

Terry Dow, 36, Brian Barajas, 22, and Kacey White, 20, are all
instrumentation students in favor of the new policy. They said drug
testing is becoming the industry norm, and students need to get used
to it.

"I think it's awesome," Dow said. "It keeps people straight. You have
to do it in the work force, so you might as well do it here."

Barajas agrees, saying "You can't do drugs at work, so you shouldn't
be able to do drugs at school either. They should get used to it from
the get-go."

White said he's heard a bit of grumbling from students wondering why
they need to be tested if they don't do drugs. But to him, the answer
is straightforward.

"If you don't take drugs, you have nothing to worry about," he
said.

The International Air & Hospitality Academy in Vancouver, Wash., has
conducted a random drug testing policy for five years.

Co-president Lynn Rullman said the majority of the school's 350 or so
students enter the airline industry, where drug screening is required.

"They get a better understanding what random drug testing means and
how (drugs) could harm them going forward," she said. "We're not here
to judge them. We're here to teach them."

The policy, which applies only to students, didn't generate any
backlash when it was enacted, Rullman said. When the occasional
students test positive, they're often remorseful and open to getting
treatment, she said.

"If a student wants to go to school here, they have to submit to
random drug testing. It's something we feel is important from an
employer standpoint," Rullman said.

Gena Wikstrom, executive director of the Northwest Career Colleges
Federation in Redmond, Wash., said she's not seeing random drug
testing as a trend among her 100-member career schools in Oregon,
Washington and Idaho.

But the policies are more common at certain types of schools, such as
those where students work with dangerous equipment or would need a
drug test to obtain employment, such as in health or commercial truck
driving.

Wikstrom said she's never heard complaints from students or staff
about the testing. But if students aren't happy with it, she said
they're free to complete their education elsewhere.

"Frankly, I believe if students said this is a violation of their
rights, they'd be asked to leave," she said. "They know what the
policy is upon enrollment. If they don't like the policy, they can go
to a community college."

In agreement is Jeff Felix, an instrumentation/electrical
superintendent for the Tesoro Corp., which operates an oil refinery in
Martinez, Calif. His department employs 35 craftspeople, including 23
Perry Tech graduates. Tesoro requires drug testing before people are
hired, so Felix views Perry Tech's practice as a win-win.

"It shows Perry is continually looking forward to improving and
meeting the needs of its customers," he said. "Why would I want to
hire somebody with a substance-abuse issue and then have to terminate
him? ... It's easier to support a school that has those policies in
place."

To prepare for jobs at Tesoro or other companies, instrumentation
students use dangerous and heavy equipment each day, Nirk said. If
they do something wrong, they could get shocked, or they could sever a
finger or a hand.

"The instrument guys are the quarterbacks," Nirk said. "They calibrate
those instruments to fix the problem. If they make one mistake, it
could be detrimental to the product in the end. But it could be
life-threatening in the plant."

Although she doesn't have hard data, Cote said the number of students
who have withdrawn from Perry Tech for drug-abuse problems has
increased in recent years. She doesn't know why that is, but she's
hoping the new drug-testing policy will put a stop to it.

Richard Robertson, a second-year student in Perry Tech's Machine
Technology program, shares this hope.

"People who are on drugs and are drunk are a hindrance," said
Robertson, 40. "It's not about privacy. It's about everyone's safety."