Speaking out
Five address trustees on student drug testing idea
BY DAN PARKER SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Drug testing could prove to be a hot topic for Port Aransas schools in coming weeks.

On Thursday, Dec. 20, the prospect of a drug-testing program being created for students lured the first community members in recent memory to speak during the public comment portion of a meeting of Port Aransas Independent School District Board of Trustees.

Five people spoke.

That might not sound like much. But it's actually a relatively heavy turnout, considering the fact that not one community member has addressed trustees at a regular monthly meeting in at least a year.

Trustees have been talking recently about the possibility of establishing a random drug-testing program for students who drive on campus and who are involved in extra-curricular activities such as band and athletic competitions. That would include most of the students at Port Aransas High School.

As envisioned, a testing program would affect only those students driving on campus or taking part in extra-curricular activities because they are the students who legally can be tested, due to the fact that driving on campus and extra-curricular activities are privileges, not rights, according to Billy Wiggins, superintendent of PAISD.

All of those who spoke at the trustees meeting Dec. 20 were parents of children in Port Aransas schools.

Among speakers were Richard and Michelle Sledz. They said they want a drug-testing program created.

Richard Sledz said he supports testing because he believes it would increase the school district's ability to detect, deter and seek treatment for students using alcohol and drugs. He said he wants testing also as just one part of a more comprehensive drug and alcohol prevention program at Port Aransas schools, overall.

Drug testing likely would nip a student 's abuse problem in the bud before actual addiction develops, Sledz said. Treatment, he said, is more likely to work before dependency occurs.

Richard Sledz is a member of PAISD's DWEIC - District Wide Educational Improvement Committee, a panel of local teachers, administrators, parents and other community members. He also is executive director of the Coastal Bend AIDs Foundation, a Corpus Christi-based non-profit organization that not only addresses

' AIDs but also engages in substance abuse prevention.

' George Armanovs told trustees that he opposes a testing program.

"The school system is not responsible for making children obey the law. As a parent, that's my responsibility," said Armanovs, who also has two children in Port Aransas High School. "I don't want kids treated as criminals who have to be tested all the time to prove their innocence."

Parent Marnie Pate said she wants a testing program established largely because it will help children avoid buckling to peer pressure to take drugs.

Charlie Clark said he will go along with what the community decides but that he personally is against testing. He said parents, not schools, should keep those kinds of tabs on children. Also, he said, the proposed testing program would be unfair because it would target only the students in- volved in extra-curricular activities, not everyone.

Trustee Lorraine Stern said she was excited to see community members speaking to the school board for a change.

"I just wanted to thank you for coming out to talk to us," Stern told the speakers. "No one does."

Trustees took no action on the drug-testing matter because it was not on the agenda.

All of the trustees previously have said they want to see more information on the issue before deciding whether they'll vote to enact a program. Wiggins is researching the matter for trustees.

It was unclear at press time whether the drugtesting issue will be on the agenda for the next school board meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 17 at the district administration building on Station Street.