W'BORO SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES DRUG POLICY

WHITESBORO -- Nancy Gentry clapped Monday night after the passage of
Whitesboro's new drug policy.

Gentry, along with 50 other parents, attended a Whitesboro School Board
meeting in January to ask the board to take a more aggressive stance on
drugs in the district.

After workshops, public meetings and advice from parents, the board
approved the new policy Monday.

"I am very pleased that it was done with quickness and ease," Gentry said.
"Sometimes you think it will take longer."

The request for a stronger policy came when a group of concerned parents
met after learning of a Whitesboro High School student with a drug problem.
The group stated that it would not let up until the policy was dealt with
and enforced.

"They (the board) took the interest of the parents and the welfare of the
kids to heart," Gentry said. "It was very impressive for me. The kids
welfare will be well watched and the problem will lesson and lesson with
each year when they (students) realize the district is serious."

Within weeks of the first meeting, the high school had been equipped with
security cameras and the Board was well on its way toward the new policy.

The new policy states that each activity student (student who is a member
or any middle or high school district sponsored extra-curricular
organization) or student driver will receive a copy of the drug testing
consent form and it must be returned before the activity begins. Students
will be requested to perform the test at physicals, when randomly selected
or in the case of reasonable suspicion.

According to the policy, the purpose is to:

educate students of the serious physical, mental and emotional harm caused
by illegal drug use;

alert students with possible substance abuse problems to the potential
harms that drug use poses for their physical, mental and emotional well
being and offer them the privilege of competition as an incentive to stop
using such substances;

ensure that students adhere to a training program that bars the intake of
illegal drugs;

prevent injury, illness and harm for students that may arise as a result
from illegal drug use;

offer students practices, competition and school activities free of the
effects of illegal drug use.

The policy doesn't only punish students for being caught with drugs in
their system but also offers counseling for students and families.

School board policies are available online at www.whitesboroisd.org.