ABOUT 120 STUDENTS WOULD TAKE DRUG TESTS

Pewaukee District Considers Policy

Village of Pewaukee - One-quarter - or about 120 - of Pewaukee High
School students who participate in extracurricular activities would be
tested for drugs every year, according to a draft proposal submitted
to a School Board committee Monday.

But, even though board members asked administrators to draw up a
sample policy and procedures, some were careful to say they had not
made up their mind on whether to approve a random drug testing program.

"Right now, I'm still trying to absorb the information that's there,"
board member Larry Dux said. "I need to wait until I see the policies
and the specific procedures."

Even board member Frank Goodwin, who sat on the committee that drafted
the proposal, said he wasn't sure of his vote.

But board member Brian Kammers said the work that the board has
approved so far in investigating random drug testing reveals his
leanings. "I guess I wouldn't have supported the study if I didn't see
the potential," he said.

Pewaukee High School officials proposed random drug testing for
students involved in extracurricular activities earlier this year in
the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that validated the practice.

High school Principal Martin Van Hulle said random drug testing could
act as a deterrent to drug use as well as give students a tool to
combat peer pressure.

"We're concerned about our kids, obviously, and their health and
safety and welfare," Van Hulle told School Board members Monday. "I
like the idea of establishing a strong culture that disapproves of
drug use."

School administrators said some of the strongest supporters of random
drug testing are student athletes.

"The kids are really buying into this, and I think that speaks
volumes," said John Maltsch, the School District's activities and
athletic director.

Parents also seem to like it.

In a survey earlier this year, three of every four parents who
responded said they supported such drug testing. More than half of the
parents also said they would support a $5 to $10 increase in athletic
or activities fees to pay for such testing.

The draft proposal did not indicate how the $30-per-test cost of the
program would be paid. Among the substances students would be tested
for are alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, opiates, cocaine and
amphetamines.

"We're still a long way from having a policy in place," Van Hulle
said. "We're doing it slowly, and we're doing it in, I think, a wise
process so we have all our information before we jump into anything."

Currently, only about 20 of the state's 426 school districts have
policies allowing random drug testing, according to the Wisconsin
Association of School Boards.

Last month, the Oconomowoc School Board decided to drop the idea of
testing high school students involved in extracurricular activities.
Board members said drug testing did not have full parental support,
and school officials were unsure it would have any effect on drug use.

Oconomowoc's decision shouldn't affect what is done in Pewaukee,
however, Van Hulle argued.

When asked what he thought about Pewaukee becoming a leading school
district in southeastern Wisconsin in the area of drug testing, Van
Hulle said: "Hurray for us. . . . I'd rather be the first one out of
the gate."