SCHOOLS MULL DRUG TESTING FOR TEACHERS

WESTFORD -- Two weeks after a teacher was arraigned on charges of
heroin possession, the School Department is considering adding random
drug testing to the teachers' contract.

At last night's School Committee meeting, Superintendent of Schools
Stephen Foster said he plans to review the teacher contract for ways
to ensure a higher level of safety for students and staff.

"Given recent events, it seems only prudent to accelerate a review of
pertinent policies," said Foster in a letter to parents and staff.
Jessica Palkes, a former Stony Brook Middle School teacher, was
charged with possession of heroin and arraigned in Ayer District
Court on Jan. 9. Parent Susan Foley said she is angry with the media
attention surrounding Palmas' arrest.

"I'm tired of seeing Westford on the front page of the papers," said
Foley. "As suddenly, Westford is a very undesirable place to live and
raise your children." School Committee member MariClare O'Neal said
her two sons enjoyed having Jessica Palkes as a teacher.

"She was a fantastic teacher," said O'Neal. "I want us to come up
with a policy which best protects our children and our teachers."
Palkes' arrest comes three years after former Westford Academy
teacher Rosemarie Pumo was arrested for, and later convicted of,
distributing heroin to students. In November 2004, Pumo was sentenced
to four to five years in state prison, followed by three years probation.

In October, Susan Clickner, a former eighth-grade science teacher at
the Blanchard Middle School was indicted on charges that she had sex
with a 14-year-old Westford boy in the back seat of the car. In
December, Stephen Tousignant, an Abbot and Nabnassett School music
teacher was the subject of a police investigation involving the
viewing of a pornographic Web site on two school computers. No
criminal violations were found, and Tousignant resigned Dec. 14.

Tousignant's name was not mentioned at last night's meeting, though
School Committee member Diane Weir asked if the School Department
should add a computer-use policy that would monitor or ban
inappropriate Web sites. The committee is also reviewing a policy on
appropriate teacher contact with students. Foster said he wouldn't
want the policy to prohibit a positive mentor relationship between a
teacher and student.

In addition to appropriate teacher contact and drug-testing policies,
Foster is also considering implementing a program to help teachers
and administrators recognize the signs of drug abuse.

"We have a well-trained staff of educators who may not be
street-wise," said Foster. As required by state law, the School
Department conducts a Criminal Offender Record Information Check on
all new teachers. CORI checks are limited to Massachusetts and
include all criminal arraignments, no matter what the verdict is.
School Committee Chairman Betsy Andrews said she'd like the School
Department to conduct additional CORI checks on out-of-state
teachers. "When you get an out-of-state employee, CORIs don't apply,"
Andrews said. The School Department also has immediate plans to bring
drug-sniffing dogs into the schools.

"We have zero tolerance (for drugs)," said Andrews. "We hold teachers
at the same level we hold our students. They set examples."