SCHOOLS TO DETECT DRUGS WITH SPRAY

EDEN -- Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Rodney Shotwell is
sending his middle and high school principals back to school this fall
armed with a new tool to fight drugs on campus.

Drug detection spray kits will allow administrators to test students'
belongings for the presence of drugs.

But more important, Shotwell and school board members hope it will
deter drug use and kindle conversation between parents and their
children about the dangers of drugs.

This is how it works: A test paper about the size of a Post-it note is
used to swipe the student's clothing or belongings. The paper picks up
residue, which is sprayed with an aerosol reagent. The color of the
stains on the paper determine the presence of drugs such as marijuana,
heroin and cocaine.

During a work session Monday night, the Rockingham County Board of
Education briefly discussed procedures for using the kit.
Administrators, not school resource officers, will test students when
they have reasonable suspicion of drug presence on their campuses.

Shotwell said examples of suspicious behavior would include a student
observed as being incoherent or glassy-eyed. He said a student's
report of another with drugs also could initiate use of the kit.

A positive swipe could lead to a more thorough search, such as the
student's car or locker. Parents are informed whether the swipe yields
a positive or negative response.

"It gives them the opportunity to do follow-up at home," Shotwell
said.

No disciplinary action will be taken based solely on a positive swipe,
Shotwell said.

Drug detection spray kits are familiar to law enforcement agencies but
are a new instrument for school systems, said Charles Griffiths,
program manager for detection technologies with Mistral Security.

Mistral, based in Bethesda, Md., makes the kits. Griffiths is also the
manager of a federal grant program that allows the company to provide
kits and training to school districts. Grant dollars to support the
technology in schools have increased from about $200,000 in 2001 to
about $700,000 currently, he said.

The grant dollars are provided to Mistral, which in turn will provide
the kits and training to Rockingham County for free. Griffiths said
more than 100 school districts across the country are using the kits.

Bartlett Yancey High School in Yanceyville is entering its third year
using the spray kits.

"We only have used it for marijuana," principal Gary Cone
said.

Cone said the use of the sprays has heightened student awareness and
contributed to helpful dialogues with them about drugs.

He said he has never had a student who tested positive using the spray
to dispute that they were using drugs or were in possession of them.

As for Shotwell, he's a bit envious.

"I wish I'd had it whenever I was a high school principal," he said
Tuesday.