LET'S NOT OVERREACT

Pender County schools surely have better things to do with $30,000 a year
than to randomly test a third of the teachers for drugs.

Despite the heartbreaking death of a lovely young teacher, Pender's schools
apparently have no serious drug abuse problem.

It's one thing to test bus drivers, shop teachers or other employees who
operate dangerous machinery. But forcing them all to be tested periodically
would be a distraction and an invasion of privacy. It wouldn't do much to
make them feel like trusted and respected professionals.

New Hanover County school officials apparently have no plans to consider
drug tests, and it's hard to see why they should. The filing of drug
charges against one teacher is a serious matter, but an individual one.

Brunswick County school officials are looking at a middle way. Current
teachers wouldn't be tested, but job applicants would be.

That's a common approach in other organizations (including the Star-News),
though it's hard to know how much good it does. The real question is how an
employee performs.