Six of nine speakers say 'no' to drug testing
BY DAN PARKER SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Nine community members stood at a meeting of the Port Aransas Independent School District Board of Trustees and spoke out on the subject of random drug testing on Thursday, Jan. 17.

Six, including a high school senior and two teachers, argued against drug testing. Three spoke in support of it.

Trustees listened and thanked the speakers, but took no action. Rick Adams, president of the board of trustees, said trustees might take a vote at their next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 14, on whether to direct Superintendent Billy Wiggins to draw up a policy and program for drug testing and anti-drug education.

Trustees also could direct Wiggins instead to put together a program that would emphasize anti-drug education but contain no drug testing.

Even if trustees do vote at the February meeting to have Wiggins draw up a program, it would not be until later that the board would hold a vote on whether to have the program enacted, Adams said.

No trustees have expressed positions publicly on whether they want a testing program to be established.

They have said they won't decide until they get more information on the issue and hear more from the public.

At the Jan. 17 meeting, Wiggins presented results of drug testing research he had done for trustees. Wiggins said:

• About 30 percent of school districts in Texas do one kind of drug testing or another.

• Of the 14 drug-testing districts he contacted, 11 considered the practice to be an effective deterrent.

• Some districts have policies that require no punitive measures against students who admit ahead of time to drug use, before they get a drug test that reveals they have been involved in substance abuse.

• All of the districts reported that drug testing is not a cure-all by itself but should be part of a comprehensive anti-drug program that includes lots of education and counseling.

Wiggins told trustees he has "no strong opinion" on whether PAISD should institute a testing program. However, he said he doesn't want to close the door on the idea. And he said if testing is done, it should be part of a larger program that includes education and counseling.

A random drug-testing program would affect only those students driving on campus or taking part in extra curricular activities such as University Interscholastic League (UIL) competitions (like band contests and athletic competitions), because they are the students who can be legally tested, Wiggins said. That's due to the fact that driving on campus and extracurricular activities are privileges, not rights, he said.

PAHS senior Alyssa Crawford spoke before the school board. She said she doesn't take drugs but opposes drug testing at PAHS. If a program is enacted, she said she won't take part in extra-curricular activities.

"Not because I'm on drugs, but because I feel a privacy line has been crossed," she said.

Marnie Pate was among parents speaking in favor of a drug-testing program.

"This is the time to be the leader in the community and not wait until there is a tragic accident that jars us all back into reality," Pate said.

Parent George Armanovs said it's parents, not schools, whom are responsible for keeping children away from drugs. As a matter of fact, he said, parents can cheaply obtain kits to test their own children.

Another parent, Karen Collins, said she supports drug testing. She suggested that the schools could consider obtaining personal drugtesting equipment and providing it to the parents who desire it.

Parent Patsy Balcom, who runs the city Parks and Recreation Department 's latchkey program at PAISD, said Port Aransas schools already do a good job of identifying which students are drinking and taking drugs.

"I would like to see us spending less time trying to catch them doing something wrong and more time teaching them to make the right choices," Balcom said.

PAHS teacher Bill Slingerland said he supports Port Aransas schools educating students against taking drugs; but he said he is against testing.

Another PAHS teacher, Kate Prejean, said she opposes drug testing for a variety of reasons. For one thing, she said, testing will set up feelings of distrust.

"Have these students done anything to present us a reason to distrust them in such a manner?" Prejean asked. "Our job is to teach our kids to be responsible, productive adults. We should trust our ability to do so as well as their ability to make the right choices in life. I feel that pre-emptive drug testing destroys this trust and send the message that we don't have the confidence in them to make good choices."

Parent Richard Sledz said he supports drug testing. Sledz said it's not just obviously troubled students who take drugs and drink alcohol, but "good kids," too.

Peer pressure to drink and do drugs is a subtle but pervasive influence on students, Sledz said. Drug testing would be a good antidote to peer pressure, he said.

While speakers sometimes emotionally expressed their opinions on the drug-testing issue, the atmosphere at the meeting remained amicable, with the entire audience lightly applauding each speaker.

Port Aransas High School Principal Travis Longanecker has said in the past that he will support whatever the community wants with regard to the drug-testing issue but that he personally opposes the idea for a variety of reasons. He said he does not believe a program will significantly help the drug problem.

Because PAHS is a small school, administrators and other employees there enjoy closer and more open relationships with students than at many schools, Longanecker said. Trust that has been developed in those relationships could be harmed if a drug-testing program is established, he said.

Steve Reaves, athletic director at PAISD, has come out in favor of a testing program. He said drug testing has proven to be a good deterrent at other schools.