TOBACCO COULD FUND HARTSELLE DRUG TESTS

Settlement Money Seen As Possible Source to Finance Proposed School Policy

HARTSELLE -- The money the school board receives from Alabama's settlement
with the tobacco industry could be used to fund a proposed student
drug-testing policy.

According to Superintendent Lee Hartsell, the school system receives about
$47,000 from Children First, the state organization that accepts and
dispenses part of the tobacco funds.

"Some of the school systems I have talked with use Children First money for
their drug-testing policy," Hartsell said.

The superintendent wants to use the money next year to pay for a nurse at
the high school. The Alabama Department of Education requires all school
sites that administer medication to have a nurse on staff.

"We have nurses at the four other school sites, and this will be my
recommendation to the board," Hartsell said.

If the committee the board appointed to draft a policy recommends that all
students in extracurricular activities be tested, board Chairwoman Susan
Puckett said other school programs might have to be cut.

She does not expect any possible cut to affect students in the classroom.

"But without coming up with some additional sources of revenue, we will
have to make choices," she said.

Mrs. Puckett, who serves on the drug policy committee, suggested asking the
City Council to help fund the program.

The council majority pushed the school board to establish a policy after a
baseball player tested positive for marijuana on March 4 at Hartselle
Medical Center.