Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI) Copyright: 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser, Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/uXtrz8Lm Website: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195 Author: Barry Fukunaga Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n643/a09.html LINGLE BELIEVES TESTING WILL BE RESOLVED SOON The Advertiser's editorial on teacher drug testing points to the common goal of implementing the provision that was agreed to a year ago by the HSTA, Department of Education, Board of Education and the state, and which was ratified by teachers. To grant a 30-day extension beyond the June 30 deadline would only prolong the implementation. The DOE and BOE have focused on an unrealistic $500,000 implementation price tag (not including the actual costs of the tests), which has since grown to include a bureaucracy of nine people. The governor has asked BOE Chairwoman Donna Ikeda and DOE Superintendent Pat Hamamoto to look at implementation in a different context. We know the majority of teachers are not using or selling drugs. That is why the random nature of drug testing is so important. The random component serves as a deterrent to let those who use or are tempted to use drugs know that on any given day, there's a possibility they can be tested. Drug testing averages $35 per person. Randomly testing one out of every 100 teachers each year out of 12,000 statewide, comes to only 120 teachers per year. The costs obviously are significantly lower than the DOE's estimates. By focusing on the random element, rather than testing large numbers of teachers, implementation becomes more manageable, affordable and effective. The governor is encouraged that the BOE chairwoman and DOE superintendent agree with this narrower approach, and believes this matter will be resolved expeditiously. The Advertiser was incorrect to say the governor used withholding teacher pay raises as a threat. In fact, she said, "I don't want to make any threats." Her goal is to implement random drug testing to give parents, students and teachers a level of confidence that their school campus is safe, so everyone can focus on educating our keiki. Barry Fukunaga Chief of staff, governor's office - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom