DRUGS CAUSE HEADACHES FOR EDUCATORS

GUADALUPE COUNTY - Schools are supposed to be No Drug Zones, but drug
use among teens continues to cause headaches for school
administrators.

"It's a difficult battle," said Rene Ramos, Seguin Independent School
District chief operations officer. "It's very detrimental to a young
person's educational progress. They start to be truant, and that's why
we're very aggressive about truancy."

Students who use drugs tend to fall behind in their education and have
trouble keeping up with their peers, Ramos said.

To educate the community about the high cost of abusing drugs, the
schools are celebrating Red Ribbon Week Oct. 23-30.

Kirsten Legore, assistant county attorney, said Seguin ISD does a good
job working with kids who miss a lot of school. The truants get
involved with the juvenile justice system and frequently test positive
for marijuana. She said the hardest kids to work with are those who
come from families where drug abuse is the norm.

Legore said some kids are getting more than they bargained for,
because some marijuana cigarettes being passed around may be laced
with cocaine.

"We were just seeing marijuana, but now we're seeing more positive
tests for cocaine, meth and other drugs," Legore said.

Some Texas schools are implementing random drug testing for students
who are involved in after-school activities including sports, drama
and clubs.

Opponents say this assumes all students are guilty until proven
innocent, while proponents say it gives students another reason to say
no to drugs.

State law requires anyone driving a bus, including some coaches and
teachers, to undergo random drug testing, but otherwise, local
districts have chosen not to implement the practice for students.

"We did a voluntary random drug testing program when I first came, but
the cost of it was prohibitive," said Mike McGrew, Navarro ISD
Superintendent. "Now, we contract with a company that brings in drug
dogs periodically to go through the school's buildings, parking lots
and vehicles."

NHS counselor Janice McCurry said she sees students with problems with
alcohol and an increasing number of students using marijuana. McCurry
said the school is going to have some drug tests available for parents
to use on their own children and information on where other tests can
be done.

Marion ISD contracts with a service that brings drug dogs on campus
six times during the school year at random intervals.

"The only time a drug test is done on students is when they are on
probation, and it is requested by their probation officer," said
Marion High School Principal Daryl Wendel. "We do random searches
within the building area, where we've either found something before or
get a tip that something is on campus."

Wendel said drug use is a growing concern for the school, as more
students move into the district from neighboring metropolitan areas.

"We want to get to the kids that are using drugs before something bad
happens to them," Wendel said. "We always want to know where the kids
are getting it from."

Depending on the amount and the substance, Marion students caught in
possession of drugs spend 30 days in the alternative school. If they
are distributing drugs, it can be grounds for expulsion, Wendel said.