FORT EDWARD OFFICIALS HAPPY WITH RESULTS AFTER REINSTATING STUDENT DRUG TESTS

FORT EDWARD -- More than a year after requiring athletes to submit to
random drug testing, officials at Ford Edward Union Free School say
they are pleased with the results, despite some criticism of the policy.

The district reinstated the policy at the start of the 2004-05 school
year, after going without it for several years.

It calls for students in grades seven through 12 who play sports to
agree to random drug tests. Parents also have to give their written consent.

Students who refuse to be tested are suspended from the team for the season.

Superintendent Stanley W. Maziejka said the district did not
reinstate the policy expecting a high number of positive results.
Last year, 147 students were tested, and three tested positive for drugs.

But district officials believed some students were experimenting with drugs.

"Our hopes were that this would get kids to think about the issue of
drug use. ... We have realized that goal," he said.

If a student tests positive, a second test could be required to
confirm the results. If the second test is positive, the student and
parents are called to a hearing with the principal.

The student, as a first-time offender, is then given options:
Participate in assistance programs and undergo weekly drug tests for
six weeks, or be suspended from athletic participation for the
remainder of the season -- and the following season.

Testing positive a second time will result in a suspension for the
remaining season and the following season.

In the case of a third offense, a student is suspended for the
remaining season and the next two seasons. In addition,
administrative officials could suspend a student from school and
apply other disciplinary measures.

Students are tested for marijuana, opiates (heroin, opium, morphine
and codeine) and cocaine.

The testing occurs randomly at the district during each athletic season.

Each athlete receives an identification number. The high school
principal then selects random numbers, Maziejka said.

Board of Education President Christine Miles said the policy does not
need to be modified, although the district's policy committee could
if it deemed it necessary.

"I think it's a very fair policy," Miles said.

Some parents, however, have addressed the board during monthly
meetings, saying the punishments are too severe.

Others see a flaw in the procedure.

"If you're not an athlete, you don't get tested. All kids who are not
athletes can fly underneath the radar," said Paul Carpenter, a parent
with a child at the high school.

Another parent, who wished to remain anonymous because he feared
repercussions from the school district, said everyone in the school
should be tested.

"Why just pick on the athletes of this school?" he said.

Maziejka said the district reviews its policies and takes any
concerns to heart. But in response to people who say the policy is
too harsh, Maziejka said parents are aware of the penalties when they
sign the code of conduct that allows their child to undergo drug tests.

Senior Tim Mitchell, 18, was tested twice since the policy was
brought back last year.

Mitchell, who tested negative both times, played football until
medical reasons recently forced him to stop. He said the policy is
great for the district to have and is glad it was brought back.

Junior Vernon Marshall, 17, said he did not have a problem with the policy.

"If you don't do drugs, you don't have anything to worry about. But
if you do do drugs, you have to pay the consequences," said Marshall,
who plays baseball.

Senior Aaron Marcotte, 17, who also plays basketball, said the policy
shows the school has good athletes who do not do drugs. Marcotte,
however, said he thinks teachers should be tested, too.

Maziejka said there were no drug problems that prompted school
officials to create a drug-testing policy. Drug testing in the
district had apparently stopped in 1997 after an entire sampling of
students tested negative, according to previous articles in The Post-Star.

During the summer of 2004, the board reinstated the policy after one
of its members questioned why the district stopped the testing.

The district hired Schuylerville-based Northeastern Toxicology Lab to
administer the tests and analyze the samples.

Each evaluation costs $35. Last year, the district spent aout $6,000
for testing.

Paul Smith, president of the Fort Edward Teachers' Association, said
the policy has not disrupted regular school activities. He said
students have become used to the routine.

"I think it's sad we have to do it, but I understand why. ... I think
it's a sign of the times," Smith said.