JANESVILLE SCHOOL COMMITTEE WEIGHS USING CANINES FOR SEARCHES

Jaxon sniffed out the underlying issues for a Janesville School Board
committee Tuesday night.

Taped under chairs were baggies and containers of marijuana; GHB, known as
the date-rape drug; a .40-caliber handgun; dynamite; and C4, a plastic
explosive.

Janesville high school student groups suggested two years ago that the
district look into bomb-sniffing and drug-sniffing dogs for school
searches. District staff have been researching the issue ever since.

Paul Cushing, president of Detector Dogs Against Drugs and Explosives,
brought Jaxon, a yellow lab, to a Janesville School Board committee
assessing alcohol, tobacco and other drug addictions among students.

Jaxon sat down when he discovered a container with drugs in it taped under
someone's chair. Jaxon laid down when he found the dynamite and C4.

Cushing had placed the items around the board room before the meeting.

The yearly cost for random searches and responding to bomb threats would be
$18,000 to $20,000 for detector dogs, a district memo reads.

Cushing's company is based in Rockford, Ill. Dog handlers could get to
Janesville in 25 minutes, the memo reads.

Cushing used to have 29 detector dogs. Since Sept. 11, that number has
grown to a total of 49 dogs, he said.

He has dogs and handlers working full-time in the Sears Tower in Chicago,
he said.

The company is licensed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The dogs could search parking lots, students' cars, lockers and classrooms,
the memo said.

Board Member Debra Kolste asked if students who had been in the vicinity of
illicit drugs would be pinpointed in a search. She said she was concerned
that students who had no contraband and had done nothing wrong would be
singled out in a search.

Cushing said the dogs would detect a residual odor on students who had been
around drugs, so such students would be targeted.

The memo reads that school officials would be free to search targeted
students. If a drug was found, school officials could seize the drug or
other contraband, the memo reads.

School administrative staff support using detector dogs, the memo said.

The superintendent's advisory committee will continue to study the issue,
including how to cover the costs. The advisory board will decide whether
the project should move forward, the memo reads.