SURRY BOARD CONSIDERS DRUG TESTS FOR STUDENTS

Members to Look At Other Systems' Policies

Surry County's student athletes and others involved in extracurricular
activities could be required to take random drug tests as a requirement for
participation.

The Surry County Board of Education is discussing the possibility of a
program that would test basketball and football players, as well as those
who sing in chorus or play trombone for the band. The board will review the
policies of surrounding school systems at its next meeting, Nov. 4.

"A lot of the students involved in the extracurricular activities are seen
as leaders in their school populations," said Michele Hunter, a school
board member. "If they're participating in drugs and alcohol, then they're
doing things that are harmful to themselves. And it affects their ability
to be held as role models."

Mount Airy and Elkin schools do not require drug tests of students who play
sports and participate in clubs.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system has randomly tested
high-school athletes and others in extracurricular activities since 1998,
but the program, school officials say, has had limited success as a deterrent.

A report released last month showed that substance-abuse violations in
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County high schools have dropped only slightly, from
167 in 1997-98 to 154 last year. First-time violations increased last year
among athletes and students in extracurricular activities, and enrollment
has decreased in the system's voluntary drug-testing program for
high-school and middle-school students.

Surry County school board members say they want to look closely at other
policies.

"I'm not sure how I feel," said Tim Dockery, a Surry County school-board
member. "The positives, or at least what anyone would hope for, are that it
would be effective. You hope that it would reduce usage by students. I'm
not sure that is the case or not the case. I don't know. What are others
doing and what has worked? And where has it worked?"

Hunter said that she wants to hear more from the public before she makes a
decision.

"I haven't run into any opposition," Hunter said. "I would have expected to
have heard more of both sides. I think that it was surprising to me that
some parents were not opposed to their own children being tested, depending
on how it was handled and who knew the results."

Though no specific drug-testing program has been outlined, the cost of an
individual drug test could be as much as $20 a test through Northern
Hospital of Surry County in Mount Airy, Superintendent Marsha Bledsoe said.
School officials estimate that about 400 students would be tested in a
year, costing about $8,000.