TESTING SHOULD DETER TEACHERS' DRUG DEALING

THE ISSUE A Kailua public school teacher faces a prison term for her
activities dealing in cocaine and Ecstasy.

THE tragic downfall of a bright and talented Kailua school teacher
caught up in the sordid world of illegal drugs confirms the wisdom of
random drug testing of public school teachers. Testing authority was
enacted by this year's Legislature, following recent arrests of
Bronwyn Marie Kugle and three other teachers on drug charges.

Kugle, 38, resigned from her job as resource teacher at Kaelepulu
Elementary School days after her arrest in February on drug charges.
She was accused of paying more than $40,000 to buy two pounds of
cocaine and nearly 1,000 Ecstasy tablets by mail from the mainland
for local sales, having refinanced her Kailua home to pay for the
purchase.

Her own use of crystal methamphetamine and cocaine put her on a
wayward path to a possible prison sentence of five years or more and
loss of her house. Kugle, who has two sons and a daughter, called her
arrest "a blessing in disguise," saying she has been drug-free since
then.

Lee Anzai used similar language to describe his arrest on drug
charges for selling drugs to an undercover police officer last year
from a classroom where he taught special-education students at
Leilehua High School. Anzai, a longtime drug addict, was sentenced in
federal court this month to a four-year prison term.

One can only conjecture whether random drug testing would have
prompted Kugle or Anzai to halt their illegal activities or seek help
within the Department of Education. What is known is that teachers
have been able to engage in illegal drug use and dealing without
being detected and exposed by colleagues.