WFISD TO PUT DRUG TESTING POLICY IN PLACE

It wasn't unanimous, but almost.

School board members for the Wichita Falls Independent School District
voted Monday to put a drug testing policy in place, starting in August, for
a cost of $15,000 to $24,000 annually.

The as-of-yet-funded program will do random drug testing of 120 students in
ninth through 12th grade on five to eight occasions throughout the year.

All tested students will come from the pool of about 1,200 students who
participate in school-sponsored extracurricular activities.

One board member, Liz Talbert, opposed the drug-testing policy, preferring
instead to beef up the district's curriculum. "We're in the education
business, not the deterrent business," she said. "We're imposing drug
testing that has not been proven to be a deterrent."

Talbert also criticized the policy because it did not require educators to
lead by example. "The worst lesson we can teach is hypocrisy," she said.

Talbert's husband, Dr. Tom Talbert, served on the district's Drug Testing
Advisory Committee. He mentioned frequently to committee members the lack
of research showing the effectiveness of drug testing.

The Rev. Reginald Blow disagreed. Requiring students to get drug tests was
no different than asking athletes to get physicals before playing sports.

"I come from a community ravaged by drugs," he said. "In my community, the
biggest hopes are to get an NBA contract. If this drug policy deters
students (from drug use so they can compete), I'm 10 million percent in
favor of it."

The program will give students a reason to say no, said board member Kirk
Wolfe. It will alert the school to any student who wants to keep using
drugs, he said. If after three "dirty" drug tests, "I don't want them
around my kid," he said. "We remove them from participation so other kids
are not subjected to them."

Board President Ken Hines urged board members not to see the policy as
hypocritical. "We deter all kinds of activity to create the right
environment in school," he said.

Board members approved the selection of Pinnacle Medical Management, a
Houston- and Dallas-based firm, to conduct the drug tests in a 6-0 vote.
(Talbert abstained.) At $25 per urinalysis test, the cost of testing 120
students would come to $3,000 per event, according to district handouts.

Sherry Lindemann, the 2005 Texas Teacher of the Year, has publicly
criticized drug-testing but said the day's vote sends a message to students
that staying drug free is important.

In other business:

( Board members voted 6-1 to change the district's cell phone policy. Until
now, students have not been allowed to have cell phones at school. Now,
students will be allowed to carry cell phones as long as they keep them out
of sight and don't use them at any time during the school day.

Steve Ayer opposed the policy change, fearing there will be a problem with
text messaging.

( In Open Forum remarks, community member Anita Leick urged board members
to rethink their decision to remove funding from the flight portion of
Hirschi's Aviation Program. The abrupt cancellation of funding in the last
week of school broke a promise to 10 students who were counting on
finishing out the program with their pilot's license.

Board member Steve Ayer urged her to take her complaint to state Legislator
David Farabee. "We're trying to make ends meet, and we're in the hole. Part
of this is barking at the wrong dog," he said.