Pubdate: Thu, 11 May 2006
Source: Pioneer Press (IL)
Copyright 2006, Digital Chicago Inc.
Contact:  http://www.pioneerlocal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3537
Author: Kathryn Schneider
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DECISION DUE ON DRUG DOG USE

The Maine Township High School District 207 school board is one step 
closer to accepting a recommendation that its schools use canine 
detection teams in the fight against drugs.

At a May 1 Committee of the Whole meeting, board members and 
administration discussed the possibility of bringing in drug-sniffing 
dogs and tried to work out any remaining concerns. While the board 
did not vote on the issue, it expects to do so next month, Board 
President Eric Leys said.

"There is a pretty clear consensus that everybody wants it," Leys 
said. The administration is expected to bring a revised policy to the 
board next month, reflecting board members' concerns over language 
and protocol, he said.

Although school policy already allows for drug searches using 
canines, administrators asked the board to vote on the matter to 
"affirm the recommendation," Superintendent Steve Snider said.

If the board approves, dogs specially trained to locate drugs would 
be brought into each school up to three times per year to search the 
school building and the parking lot, including cars. While police 
canine units are available for free, the school may look into hiring 
private companies.

Need Vigilance

Snider has been a proponent of using drug-sniffing dogs as a "tool" 
schools can use to keep drugs out of school. He cited a recent drug 
and alcohol survey conducted at all three Maine high schools that 
showed students were using a variety of substances, although numbers 
for drugs like heroin, cocaine and stimulants were relatively low.

"I don't think Maine schools have achieved the level of vigilance 
that is required to continue to curb the levels of abuse," Snider said.

Students found with drugs in school are given a 10-day suspension, 
with the opportunity to scale it down to five days if the student and 
parents agree the student will enter a drug and alcohol treatment program.

A program that fits the family's needs is chosen with the help of 
student assistance program coordinators, positions added last year in 
each school to help students with such situations. Students can serve 
the suspension in school, at home or in an alternative suspension 
program, linking students with local organizations for community service.

"Safe' Environment

Margaret Polovchak, director of the Maine Community Youth Assistance 
Foundation and parent of a future Maine high school student, urged 
the board to take swift action on the recommendation.

"We have to protect our kids from those who are looking to make drugs 
available to them," she said. "Our young people deserve a safe environment."

Board members asked whether students would be subject to criminal 
action if drugs were found.

While drugs are always turned over to police for proper disposal, 
students are not always referred to police for criminal 
investigation, according to a panel of school deans and student 
assistant program coordinators.

Each school's executive committee -- the principal, assistant 
principals, deans, director of guidance and student assistance 
coordinator -- make the decision whether or not to contact the 
police, Maine East Principal David Barker said.

Often, the decision comes down to the amount of drugs possessed by 
the student, Barker said. The administration contacts police when an 
amount is found large enough to qualify for a felony charge. Other 
decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, he said, and the board of 
education has expelled students for serious drug activity and felony offenses.

Board member Donna Pellar, a former high school teacher, said she was 
prepared to support the measure to combat drug addiction and "nip it 
in the bud."

"I think we are morally obligated to do it," she said. "If dogs keep 
drugs out of schools, so be it."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman