'FAILING' THE DRUG TEST

Why are teachers afraid of drug testing?

The article, "Teachers' contract includes testing" (May 3
Tribune-Herald) was misleading. It was indicated that the reason 38
percent of the teachers voted "no" was because "it showed the state
is not treating the teachers as professionals."

Many readers will draw the conclusion that some or most of the 38
percent of teachers fear being tested because they know they may test
positive -- they are probably "users" or "addicts." Nothing was
mentioned regarding the high percentage of false positives that
result in the testing.

I am a retired teacher (member of the HSTA-R) and monitored the
recent teachers' contract voting. I was aware that the teachers were
concerned about the drug testing issue and I felt that if a teacher
was drug-free, the teacher should not mind being tested.

Then it was brought to my attention that teachers were mainly
concerned over the many false positives that can result from the drug testing.

Ann Marie Boehrer

Hawaiian Paradise Park