Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC) Copyright: 2003 Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc. Contact: http://www.journalnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/504 Note: The Journal does not publish letters from writers outside its daily home delivery circulation area. Author: Sherry Wilson Youngquist SURRY SHELVES DRUG TESTING School Board Worries About Rights and Costs The Surry County school board has put on hold its discussion of a possible drug-testing program for student athletes and others involved in extracurricular activities. School officials say that the likelihood of such a program acting as a deterrent does not outweigh the risk that students' rights could be violated. "I'm not sure it's our mission," said Billy Sawyers, an assistant superintendent, at a board meeting Monday night. Board member Bobby Hanes said he felt uncomfortable targeting a specific group of students and said that the cost of the program, which had been estimated to be as much as $8,000 a year, was too great. "We should spend the money on something else," Hanes said. "I don't think the people that we would need to target would be in that group anyway." Since the fall, the Surry school board has been reviewing drug-testing policies of other school systems. Mount Airy and Elkin schools do not require drug tests for students who play sports and participate in clubs. Surry County had looked closely at a program in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, which has required random drug-testing of high-school athletes and others in extracurricular activities since 1998. At one time, Surry board members had expressed interest in a drug-testing program, saying that student athletes are role models in the community and should be held to a higher standard. Recently, school officials have begun to feel that the process of collecting a urine sample from a student at school would intrude on individuals' rights. Sawyers, who has been a teacher, coach and parent, said he felt uneasy about administrators or other school personnel having to accompany students to collect urine and then ensure the integrity of the specimen. "It's a violation of a person's rights, to me personally," he said. Board member Brian Gates said that the policies that Surry County school system had been considering had been upheld by the courts, which made him comfortable with pursuing it. However, the cost of a drug-testing program can not be justified at this time, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex