Pubdate: Thu, 17 Nov 2005
Source: Athens News, The (OH)
Copyright: 2005, Athens News
Contact:  http://www.athensnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603
Author: Jim Phillips, staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

NEW ALEXANDER BOARD MEMBERS SAY THEY'LL MOVE CAREFULLY ON DRUG POLICY

Controversy over a student drug-testing policy in the Alexander Local
School District probably played a part in the outcome of the Nov. 8
election, in which voters replaced two school-board incumbents who
supported the policy, and re-elected a third incumbent who did not.

However, the two new board members both told The Athens NEWS this week
that they didn't run on the issue of ditching the drug testing, and
probably won't be in a big hurry to address the topic once they take
their seats in January.

The policy, adopted by the board earlier this year, requires students
who engage in athletics or cheerleading, or drive to school, to
undergo urine testing for drug and alcohol use.

A more recent attempt to expand it to include new hires to the
district was shelved after it failed to win support from one of the
board members who voted for the original policy.

New board members Gordon Brooks and Mike Chapman both acknowledged
that the policy, which met with fierce opposition from some district
parents, helped spark their decisions to run.

However, they also stressed that the way the policy was adopted is a
symptom of the current board's lack of accountability, which they
consider the real problem that needed to be addressed in the Nov. 8
election.

"My only complaint was the lack of communication with the community
about the old policy," Chapman explained.

Brooks agreed. "They (adopted) it without any input -- that's my big
issue," he said.

In the recent election, voters unseated Synthia Clary and Stephen
Thomas, who had both voted in favor of adopting the drug-testing policy.

Clary later balked at expanding the policy to new hires, suggesting
that the initial policy had not been in place long enough to properly
assess its effectiveness.

In addition to putting Brooks and Chapman on the board, voters gave a
strong thumbs-up to incumbent Fred Davis, the lone holdout on the
board in the original drug-testing vote. Davis pulled the most votes
of any candidate out of a six-candidate field.

Two other incumbents who supported the testing policy, Dale Sinclair
and board President Dave Kasler, were not up for re-election and will
remain on the board.

Very active in the election campaign was a new citizen group,
Alexander Citizens for a Responsive School Board (ACRSB), which
supported Davis and opposed Clary and Thomas.

NEITHER BROOKS NOR Chapman said they have any plans to immediately go
after the drug-testing policy as new board members.

"I'm definitely going to need to look at the issues," Brooks said.
"The school board has some information that the general public doesn't
have. It's definitely something I'm going to look at, but I can't make
any promises."

Chapman was even more cautious, suggesting that the board should take
a wait-and-see approach, giving the policy some time before assessing
whether it's good or bad for the district.

"We have to treat this like any other policy," he said. "And now that
it's implemented, we just have to let it run its course... If it's a
good thing, and we see it's a good thing, it's obviously going to
stay. It's no different from a new reading policy."

Both men also emphasized that the dispute over the policy already has
pulled the district in two different directions, and the last thing
they want to do is come onto the board and immediately make the
controversy worse.

"There's people that support it, and there's people that are against
it," Chapman said. "My job is to do what's best for the community, and
I don't know what that is right now."

Brooks said, "My big fear is, if we don't talk about this carefully,
we cause even bigger turmoil in the district. Right now, one group is
upset, and if we go in and make a big change, another group is going
to be upset."

He added that despite the strong feelings of some ACRSB members
against the drug testing, he has undergone no arm-twisting from
members who want him to try to repeal the policy.

"Absolutely not," he reported. "I've met with a few of the ACRSB
people a few times. I've explained my position to them, and they
understand it perfectly. They just want someone to look at (the
policy) reasonably."

The Alexander school board meets tonight. The drug-testing policy is
not listed as an agenda item, though it always can be raised for
discussion by citizens during the public-comment period.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin