Pubdate: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 Source: Grayson County News-Gazette (KY) Copyright: 2006 Grayson County News-Gazette Contact: http://www.gcnewsgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3652 Author: Royce Williams, News-Gazette Editor-Reporter Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SCHOOL BOARD CONSIDERS RANDOM DRUG TESTS It sounds so good -- a drug-free, alcohol-free school system. Perhaps drug dealers would be the only ones who would say wait a minute, and it is doubtful anyone other than their cohorts would agree. While Grayson County Schools aren't saying wait a minute, they are a bit concerned about exactly how the drug-free, alcohol-free school will happen. The school board is expected to discuss this and other policy changes at its September meeting. The policy administrators are talking about is random testing of students in extracurricular activities and students who drive to school. For drivers, it would be the same test bus drivers take now. School Superintendent Barry Anderson said the new policy, if approved by the board, means that any student testing positive for a controlled substance would be removed from the school activity for three sessions of the activity. The student, however, could opt for drug counseling from a board-approved source and remain on a sports team for the next three games or not miss three band performances, for example. "What we still have to work out," Anderson said, "is a plan for applying the policy in a fair way, a way that will work toward a goal of a drug-free, alcohol-free school." That's what everybody wants, he said, "but what about the coach who may see a player's car at an out-of-town bar? Can he kick that student off the team right there or does he have to wait for the drug test on Monday, and what does this do to the coaches' authority if he must wait for the test and the results?" "What if the student's just there with his dad and his dad is having a drink, but the student's just playing pool?" he asked. We've got to get with principles, coaches, advisors and administrators and work through some of these questions, set up some kind of procedures, he said. An on-the-spot reprimand could work better than down-the-road testing or counseling. And a coach or advisor may be the student's only contact with an adult male. There is a random drug-testing policy for school district employees, but, if the random testing for students is approved, it will be a first for the Grayson County schools. The test would be an analysis of urine. "We've got to know how long the various controlled substances stay in the body," he said. "When do we re-test to make sure the student has stopped using any of the 11 substances recommended for testing, plus the cost of each test could run to $50, which is money we need to buy gas for buses and heat the schools..." Anderson says he doesn't argue with the goal, "but I want us to come up with a policy we can carry out with no undue harm to students, that's fair to them, and one that's going to work better than or augment what we've got now." Wellness policy, too Recommended by the Kentucky School Boards Association is another possible local policy change -- developing a wellness policy for the school system. Anderson, who has worked in elementary schools as both a teacher and principal, says he has noticed an increase in the number of obese kids over the last 10 years, and he says a wellness policy is overdue and coming for the district. Federal law requires it, he said. "But, again, how far do you go?" he asks. Anderson feels some of the responsibility must rest with parents in this area. Both Hardin and Jefferson counties have banned all soft drinks in schools, even in school lobbies. Coca-Cola can be sold in concession stands, he said, and we're setting up a district-wide wellness fair in September to get kids and parents involved in what the wellness policy turns out to include. Yet, Anderson remembers 3rd grade classrooms where one student was having a birthday and the child's mom sent in doughnuts or a cake for all the kids to share. And concession stands often help finance extracurricular activities in the school system. "Do you ban this kind of thing?" He says he doesn't yet have the answer to that one, "but I think cake and doughnut moms have to make some of these decisions." "We've cut back on the amount of sugar we're serving at school lunchrooms and we're offering a lot more health drinks in schools, but do we go as far as banning the birthday cakes?" "We've got to get these kinds of questions ironed out," he said. Anderson thinks parents have to get with a health program, because "we can teach children, but we can't raise them." And counting minutes This policy change is state law, so it's coming -- a new way to tell how long a student's absent. Starting now, a student running late would be counted absent for all the minutes they are late after 60 minutes. Under 60 minutes is still just tardy, but all the minutes over 60 count toward an absence. The absent minutes that are counted are tallied according to the number of minutes in a school day (the time a student must be at school). "Each student who's late," Anderson said, "will have missed that percentage of the day, and it's cumulative." Anderson said Grayson County schools shoot for 95 percent attendance, but "the minutes can add up quicker than students think, and pretty soon, a day's missed." With about 4,200 students in the system, Anderson thinks the attendance percentage will drop, but he's not sure yet how much. If it does drop, it means a cut in state funds to the district. "On average," he said, "the district gets about $20 per student for each full day of attendance." But since minutes count, a trip to Elizabethtown for a dental appointment would probably mean a partial day absent, "because driving there, getting the teeth worked on and driving back is going to take longer than 60 minutes." In most cases, it would be longer than an hour at a local dentist or doctor, too. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman