RANDOM DRUG TESTING COMING TO BATTLE MOUNTAIN?

A random drug testing policy is being developed at Battle Mountain
High School to bring down substance abuse problems being reported at
the school.

The policy is still a work in progress. The main idea though is that
students involved in extra-curricular activities like sports would be
subject to drug testing. With about 75 percent of the students Battle
Mountain involved in extra curricular activities, a drug testing
policy would effect a lot of students.

The details, though, haven't been decided, and the details are pretty
important to doing the testing right, principal Brian Hester said.

For instance, how many students should be tested? How often should
they be tested? What do you test for? It will be important to find a
reliable, certified place to do the tests, Hester said, and of
course, cost will be a factor as well.

And while the law allows mandatory testing only for students in
extra-curricular activities, parents could be allowed to sign up
their children for the testing pool.

The school is also trying to figure out what will happen if a student
tests positive for drugs. The school wants to have some sort of
intervention and help program available instead of simply punishing
the student and pulling them off the team.

And right now, finding the right kind of family counseling and help
programs in the valley has been difficult, said Jeanne Hennessy,
guidance a counselor at the school.

Giving kids an 'excuse'

The goal, along with finding and helping students who are using
drugs, is to deter drug use all together.

While some students may not be daunted by the idea of being kicked
off a sports team, many students realize they'd be letting their
teammates down if they were caught with drugs and forced to sit out
games, athletic director Rich Houghton said.

Having this policy gives kids an "excuse" to say no, said Margaret
Olle, a parent of two students at Battle Mountain. Many times
students are expected to go to parties, because everyone else is, but
they don't really want to be in a drug-filled environment.

"Kids can say, 'I can't go out drinking and smoking with you, I might
be drug tested this week,'" Olle said.

Parents say there's a large rift between students who drink and do
drugs and students who don't. Kids who want to abstain often have a
hard time speaking up. A drug testing policy gives support to kids
who want to stay clean, Hester said.

"We want to give power back to students who aren't using," he
said.

Houghton said he's like to see some sort of reward system for
students who stay clean.