Pubdate: Fri, 25 Oct 2002
Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC)
Copyright: 2002 Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.journalnow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/504
Note: The Journal does not publish letters from writers outside its daily 
home delivery circulation area.
Author: Sherry Wilson Youngquist

SURRY BOARD CONSIDERS DRUG TESTS FOR STUDENTS

Members to Look At Other Systems' Policies

Surry County's student athletes and others involved in extracurricular 
activities could be required to take random drug tests as a requirement for 
participation.

The Surry County Board of Education is discussing the possibility of a 
program that would test basketball and football players, as well as those 
who sing in chorus or play trombone for the band. The board will review the 
policies of surrounding school systems at its next meeting, Nov. 4.

"A lot of the students involved in the extracurricular activities are seen 
as leaders in their school populations," said Michele Hunter, a school 
board member. "If they're participating in drugs and alcohol, then they're 
doing things that are harmful to themselves. And it affects their ability 
to be held as role models."

Mount Airy and Elkin schools do not require drug tests of students who play 
sports and participate in clubs.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system has randomly tested 
high-school athletes and others in extracurricular activities since 1998, 
but the program, school officials say, has had limited success as a deterrent.

A report released last month showed that substance-abuse violations in 
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County high schools have dropped only slightly, from 
167 in 1997-98 to 154 last year. First-time violations increased last year 
among athletes and students in extracurricular activities, and enrollment 
has decreased in the system's voluntary drug-testing program for 
high-school and middle-school students.

Surry County school board members say they want to look closely at other 
policies.

"I'm not sure how I feel," said Tim Dockery, a Surry County school-board 
member. "The positives, or at least what anyone would hope for, are that it 
would be effective. You hope that it would reduce usage by students. I'm 
not sure that is the case or not the case. I don't know. What are others 
doing and what has worked? And where has it worked?"

Hunter said that she wants to hear more from the public before she makes a 
decision.

"I haven't run into any opposition," Hunter said. "I would have expected to 
have heard more of both sides. I think that it was surprising to me that 
some parents were not opposed to their own children being tested, depending 
on how it was handled and who knew the results."

Though no specific drug-testing program has been outlined, the cost of an 
individual drug test could be as much as $20 a test through Northern 
Hospital of Surry County in Mount Airy, Superintendent Marsha Bledsoe said. 
School officials estimate that about 400 students would be tested in a 
year, costing about $8,000.
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