Pubdate: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 Source: Huntsville Item (TX) Copyright: 2001 Huntsville Item and Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. Contact: http://www.itemonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1126 Author: Dawn Ayers, Staff Writer HISD DRUG POLICY DEBATED IN 2001 Drug policy took center stage this year as Huntsville Independent School District discussed a controversial plan that would have required students at HISD involved in extracurricular activities to be randomly tested for drug use once a year. A little more than a year ago, a recommendation by a Huntsville ISD board member to implement mandatory drug testing in area schools created much discussion among board members, students and concerned citizens. After much debate, board members tabled the drug-testing policy in August 2000, and a school district task force was developed to study the problems and issues surrounding drug and alcohol use. At the September 2001 board meeting, board member Terry Vogler requested board members discuss the issue in October. Vogler said in an earlier interview evidence has shown that drug use has been an increasing problem among high school and middle school students. "The problem is not getting any better," he said. "A lot of teachers work hard in the classroom to do their best with students and they need 100 percent of the students' attention. I believe it (drug use) has increased and statistics would show that it is continuously increasing. It needs to be addressed; if we can save one child then it is worth it." Doug Karr, a senior on the Hornet varsity football team, said in an earlier interview he "completely disagreed" with the proposal. "They are bringing athletes out into the open," he said. "We are being discriminated against. If you're an athlete and you want to be successful, you can't do drugs." In a 4-to-2 vote at October's board meeting, the HISD board of trustees decided to "just say no" to the proposal for mandatory drug testing. Task force member David O'Neil, a Huntsville attorney who provided legal presentation for the committee, said after the ruling the board failed to show just cause for randomly testing students when they could not illustrate that a problem existed. "When did we decide there was a problem? When did we decide that we didn't need to look at the legal issues?," he asked. "We are the ones who are going to pay this bill. I hear talk about, "if we help one child,' Well, I've got a news flash. That's not a legal standard. If you proceed on that course, you're going to get sued. You're going to lose. I don't know what else to tell you." The board's ruling spawned debate and left many board members concentrating on what to do next. J.T. Langley, president of the HISD board, said in an earlier interview that although he was not in attendance at the board meeting, he feels the issue needs further study. "An independent survey conducted among students at Huntsville High School and Mance Park Middle School indicated about a 30 percent incidence of drug use among students," he said. "Those figures are much higher than the figures accumulated by the drug task force appointed to study the issue for the school board. That's a pretty high number. Even if you took a third off, you're still looking at 20 percent or better. We need to readdress our survey. We need to determine whether it's good." Board member Patrick Antwi, who presided over the meeting in Langley's absence, agreed discussion on the issue must continue. "I think from the discussion we had...we need to look at a plan or a policy that deals with substance abuse on our campuses," he said. "I think in the end we may go to some kind of drug testing." Although he voted against the policy, Antwi said in an earlier interview he feels a problem with drugs does exist in HISD and believes it is the responsibility of the board to address it. "I do think there is a problem, and it's something we need to talk about or workshop about," he said. "I believe that if you're a student, if you take part in any extracurricular or co-curricular activity, you need to be drug-free." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom