NEW ALEXANDER GROUP HOPES TO REPLACE TWO BOARD INCUMBENTS

The formation of a new citizens group in the Alexander Local School
District may have been triggered by a school board decision to
institute drug testing of certain students, but group members say
their agenda is wider than that.

Doug Keiter, one of the members of the newly formed Alexander
Citizens for a Responsive School Board (ACRSB), said the group's main
concern is "a lack of communication between the board and the community."

ACRSB announced its formation earlier this month with a press
release, in which it suggested that it would be working toward
putting new members on the Alexander School Board in the upcoming
general election.

Keiter said the targeted incumbents are Stephen Thomas and Synthia
Clary. He said the group supports the re-election of member Fred
Davis, the third incumbent who's up for re-election in November.

The challengers for the board are Gordon Brooks, Michael Chapman, and
Pat Lawson, all of Albany. Board President David Kasler, probably the
most outspoken supporter of the drug policy, is not up for
re-election, nor is incumbent Dale Sinclair.

Of the five sitting board members, Davis is the only one who opposed
the institution of Alexander's new drug-testing policy. The policy
requires students to undergo urine testing for illegal drug use if
they want to participate in sports or cheerleading, or drive to
school. It has sparked fierce opposition from some district parents.

"We would like for Fred to be re-elected," Keiter confirmed. "He is,
in our opinion, not just the only one on the board opposed to the
drug policy, but he's also the best communicator with the community,
with the public."

Keiter added, "I think the drug policy is just a symptom of a lack of
communication between the board and the community," and said that
ACRSB is supporting a group of challengers for board seats based on
this issue, and "not just because they'll rescind the drug policy."

In fact, most of the challengers have declined to flat out say
they'll rescind the drug testing.

Keiter said ACRSB wants board members "who will listen to community
input... as they make decisions about anything."

With three seats coming up for election, three challengers have filed
to run. The election is on an at-large plurality basis, meaning the
top three vote getters out of the six candidates will get the three open seats.

One of the targeted incumbents, Stephen Thomas, defended his support
for the drug testing Tuesday, and said he doesn't see the evidence
for ACRSB's claim that the board is unresponsive.

"I really don't know what they'd be talking about," Thomas said.
"We've got a pretty good, open relationship with our staff and our
community... We've made it known that anybody can come to the board
meetings and ask any questions."

Thomas said that he's convinced the drug testing is needed to curb
student drug abuse, and won't back off that position to win votes.

"I'm for the policy. I voted for the policy," he said. "It's a tool
that can be used for the kids in many ways. It gives them a chance to
say no (to drugs), with the pressures that they're under today."

Regarding the many parents who have spoken out vehemently against the
policy -- citing among other points its expense, the possibility for
erroneous results, and the lack of evidence that it will be effective
- -- Thomas said he has listened to their arguments, but hasn't been convinced.

"They have valid points, but it's just an issue that we had to make a
decision on," he said. "There's good and bad points in the thing. The
board didn't decide this on its own."

In his four years on the board, he said, he has heard evidence of
drug problems among the student body. "Our staff has been scratching
their heads, wondering what they can do more of (to address the
problem)," he said.

Challengers Brooks and Chapman both echoed Keiter's position that
while drug testing is an important issue, it's only the iceberg's tip.

"I definitely don't want to be tagged as, the only reason to be
running for the school board is the drug policy," Chapman said. "One
of the issues is, I would like to see more open public participation
at school board meetings -- just more of an open attitude toward the
board meetings."

He added, "I think there just needs to be some common decisions made,
from the common people in the community. My main goal is to represent
the people of the community, and be everybody's representative."

Brooks agreed that "the drug testing stuff is just a symptom of a
lack of communication." He said he's concerned that while the current
school board has time to talk about drug policies, it rarely seems to
inform the public on core academic issues in the district.

"I haven't seen the board talking about the status of the students,
or how well the students are learning," he said. "They really haven't
talked that much about education at all. To me, that ought to be a
topic almost every meeting."

The NEWS was unable to reach Clary and Lawson for comment.

According to the agenda of the Alexander School Board, the board
plans to discuss at tonight's meeting "pre-employment drug testing"
in the school district and "other extra-curricular activity drug
testing." This apparently refers to students involved in various
clubs and other school-sponsored extra-curricular activities at Alexander.