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News (Media Awareness Project) - US OH: PUB LTE: Alex Board Members Should Take Responsibility
Title:US OH: PUB LTE: Alex Board Members Should Take Responsibility
Published On:2005-09-02
Source:Athens News, The (OH)
Fetched On:2008-01-15 18:46:17
ALEX BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR BAD DECISIONS

I am appalled at the actions and words of David Kasler, Alexander Local
School Board president, at the Aug. 25 school board meeting.

Shelby Williams' mother came to the board meeting to ask why Shelby was
being punished for not drug testing with the other students on Aug. 13 and
19. Shelby and her parents were only informed of the drug testing on Aug. 4
at the student/parent sports meeting by Larry Herges.

The Williamses spoke to Herges at that meeting and informed him that their
daughters would be unable to drug test as they would be on a previously
planned vacation.

Mr. Herges told the Williamses that they would work something out. What he
worked out was to publicly humiliate Shelby at her volleyball game when she
returned, by telling her in front of the whole team and their parents that
she could not play because she was not drug tested. (Is this non-punitive
or handled in a confidential way?) Mrs. Williams later spoke with Mr.
Herges as to when her daughter could be tested and was told it would be at
the next random drug testing and he could not tell her when that was. When
Mrs. Williams spoke of this to the school board, Mr. Kasler's reply was
"that this is an administration problem, not his or the school board's
(problem)."

Well, Mr. Kasler, this problem is of your own making.

You and fellow school board members Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Clary and Mr. Sinclair
rushed this policy through without any responsible investigation or
collection of reputable data from any nationally recognized agency that has
researched this issue or even demonstrated a need for a drug-testing policy
by collection of any data. You admit in your responses to my husband Robert
L. Wiley and Nancy Schell's questions that were submitted to you at the
July 21, 2005 school board meeting, that the only thing that the Drug
Testing Committee, of which you appointed yourself chairman at the Jan. 13
school board meeting, looked at were various drug-testing policies from
Nelsonville-York, Meigs County Schools and Sport Safe Drug Testing Company.

You, Mr. Kasler, and your fellow board members who agree with you, hurried
this testing through and did not do your homework!

Did you provide your administration with any policies or procedures to
follow or did you only give them a drug-testing policy that leaves many
questions to be answered?

You, Mr. Kasler, are responsible for the crushing blow that your
administration gave Shelby Williams!

We asked you at the July 21 and again at Aug. 25 school board meetings to
suspend the drug-testing policy and do the research.

Let our schools have a well-thought-out and researched drug education and
counseling policy and follow the current school board policy, referring any
suspected student using drugs or alcohol at school or a school function to
the sheriff's office.

Leave police actions to the police and let our schools educate our children
in a student-friendly atmosphere where they don't have to give up their 4th
Amendment rights to follow their dreams. Let's teach our children that
their constitutional rights are sacred and teach them that responsible
citizens step up and defend these rights!

Sally Jo Wiley

Albany
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