CONWAY SCHOOL BOARD WILL STUDY ISSUE MORE BEFORE MAKING DECISION

A sizable gathering of parents implored the Conway School District to
shelve possible plans for a program of random drug testing at Tuesday's
school board meeting.

The districtwide focus on drug testing comes as the result of last week's
ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow random drug testing of public
school students participating in extracurricular activities. The Conway
board had entered preliminary discussions on a random-testing policy last
year but elected to table any discussion until a final decision was
rendered by the high court.

That discussion was re-entered Tuesday night, with a large number of
district parents voicing their opposition to such a policy.

"As a parent, I teach my kids privacy," said Ann Lasowski, who contended
that testing would prohibit her children from participating in
extracurricular activities due to its methodology.

"I'm in a quandary," said Lasowski. "(My daughter) wants to do these sports
and activities. I have to say 'No, you can't do it'. So now I have an angry
daughter who can't take part in these activities."

Stephen Ralph, a local attorney with children in the Conway district,
insisted that parents must remain the chief participants in the battle
against drug use.

"That is one of the central themes of this issue," said Ralph. "(Parents)
don't want to feel like they have to abdicate their power of decision
making over the child to the school district."

The parents' comments were quietly absorbed by the members of the board,
each of whom admitted that more time and input is needed before a final
decision is reached.

"Obviously, there are differences in opinion," said board President Dr.
Terry Fiddler. "We are also parents. When we enter into any judgment we
make, we enter into this not to prove a point. We represent a community of
caring parents. We have every right to do this thing if we wish to. Whether
it's right for Conway remains to be seen."

Fiddler's comments were backed up by Superintendent James Simmons, who
agreed the district was far from a decision.

"We will not enter this without a lot of thought or discussion," said
Simmons, adding the district will continue to research the issue and gauge
community sentiment before choosing whether or not to implement a policy.

"We want to give opportunity for more input," said Simmons.

The board will hold its next meeting Thursday, Aug. 1, to further discuss
the issue. While Fiddler encouraged all interested parties to provide
input, he added the board's decision-making process is in its infancy.

In other business, the district hired the following personnel:

Cindy Derosa, social studies, Bob Courtway and Carl Stuart Middle Schools;
and Bill Joseph, science and athletics coach, Bob Courtway Middle School.
All board members were present.