SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTINUES DRUG TESTING DISCUSSIONS

The study group has been active for about four months, and they have
been busy. Heading up the group is Jack Randolph, Marshfield High
School athletic director and assistant principal, and Randy Luebbert,
the high school assistant principal. The men have held numerous
meetings with Employee Screening Services (ESS), a drug screening
company, and research has been conducted with other southwest Missouri
schools that have implemented drug testing programs. An ESS employee
was also present to provide explanation on testing methodology and to
answer questions from the group.

Marshfield High School Principal Jan Hibbs stressed that the program
isn't about "catching kids," it is about "...giving them a reason to
stand up and say no."

The program is intended to give kids "an out" when pressured by their
peers to partake of drugs. The program is aimed at students who are
active in extracurricular and co-curricular activities, and the
program would be voluntary. Parents with children not participating in
these activities could still elect to add their child to the drug pool.

The inspiration behind the proposed program is:

Instead of a student feeling he/she has to take a drug to "be cool,"
they would, for example, be weighing the possibility of losing a
scholarship, being unable to perform in a school play, or losing the
privilege of playing on a school sports team.

The program's initial statement of intent reads, in part, "The
administration and School Board support a zero tolerance policy and
believe that all students in the Marshfield R-I Schools have a right
to participate in extracurricular and co-curricular activities in a
drug free environment."

ESS employee Alan Conner said his company performs testing services
for over 25 schools in central and southwest Missouri, and that drug
use is on the rise. "The positives (test results) are escalating every
year," he said.

And it's not just the "big city" schools that have recognized the
problem. Sample drug testing policies from schools that have already
initiated a drug testing program were made available to the group -
including Sparta, Buffalo, Morrisville, Pleasant Hope and Carl Junction.

Even the students realize and admit there is a problem. Based on a
student survey conducted in May, 73 percent of students answered yes,
"I believe there is a drug problem at school."

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents said they knew of people who
have come to school on drugs, and 62 percent believed that "starting
random drug testing is a good idea."

Comments from the students ran from "I would definitely be the first
in line," to "I think this is stupid and you guy's just want to ruin
everyone's lives."

One student wrote, "...We have a BIG drug problem in our
school."

Conner's company also provides screening for many public companies,
and he said statistics show that random drug testing "is a deterrent
in the workplace." School administrators hope that if the program is
put into place, the same will hold true for district students.

Webster County Prosecuting Attorney Cynthia Black said she had
recently spoken to a group of Seymour school students, who told her
that Marshfield had a reputation of being a "druggie school."

Black said that in her job she sees the end result of kids on drugs.
And, as a parent with children that attend district public schools,
she hated to think that the situation has come to possible drug
testing. "It's sad, but realistic," she added.

School board members present included President Jo Walker, Jim Greer,
Jim Baldwin, Pat Blinzler, and Michele Day. They raised many questions
at the session, along with voicing concerns about the confidentially
of results from such a program. The group also wanted assurances on
fairness in the random selection of students, and tight language added
to protect students from abuses of the system. The testing procedures
and laboratory test results were discussed at length.

Conner said most of the schools used a five-panel test. It would
consist of screening for drugs including amphetamines,
methamphetamines, marijuana, opiates and cocaine.

He believes the "days of false positive testing are gone." Based on
the testing levels and procedures used by his company, which are in
accordance with federal DOT (Department of Transportation) standards,
Conner said false results are possible, but the testing is deemed
98-99 percent reliable. A test with an initial positive result would
be re-tested at a highly regulated, certified lab before it would be
considered "a positive result."

And, excuses such as second hand smoke just don't hold up to DOT and
American Medical Association studies. Conner cited an example - "It's
been shown that a person would have to be in a phone booth for about
eight hours with four people smoking marijuana to test positive (from
second hand smoke)."

One parental concern was that a child's medical privacy rights would
be violated, and what about a student that tests positive because they
are on prescribed medication? Conner explained if a drug that showed
up in the test was from a doctor's prescription, it would be
considered a negative test result. The program would also allow for an
appeal process, and provides for a second laboratory test before a
result is concluded as positive for drugs.

Another parent asked the group if they felt the program was the best
option available to change a kid's attitude toward drugs. What about
drug education and counseling options?

School administrators pointed out that the district's school children
were given drug education beginning at an early age, continuing
through high school. In addition to required health classes, drug
education was delivered via assemblies, newsletters, speakers, and
other multi-media programs. And, although drug counseling options
would be researched, the school district was not going to put itself
in a possible liability position of drug and alcohol counseling.

Monday night's meeting may have answered many of the initial questions
of school board members and parents alike, and perhaps allayed some
fears and doubts about the program, but drug testing in the Marshfield
School District is not a done deal. The group is committed to more
fine tuning of the program, and further discussion will be needed.

Walker concluded the 2-1/2 hour meeting by saying, "The most positive
aspect of the program is that it gives the student an incentive (not
to do drugs), and gives them a good reason to say no. It's a way out."

Randolph summed up a viewpoint shared by many, stating that something
has to be done to "change the culture in our schools."