Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2008
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Eloise Aguiar, Advertiser Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

DRUG TESTING FOR HAWAII TEACHERS REJECTED

KAHUKU -- The state Board of Education last night voted against 
funding a new drug-testing program for public school teachers, saying 
it would take money from educational programs.

Some board members expressed reservations about whether teachers 
should be subject to random drug tests at all.

Board members called on Gov. Linda Lingle, who insisted on including 
the provision in the teacher contract last year, or the Legislature 
to fund the program.

"I think it's more important for us to use these funds in the 
classroom," BOE chairwoman Donna Ikeda said.  "Let the governor, who 
was adamant in putting this in the contract, to come up with the 
funds for the program."

The board said it would revisit the issue at its February meeting.

The board last night voted 7-0 against a motion to use $400,000 from 
the Department of Education budget to set up the drug-testing 
program. A much larger sum would be needed to actually run the tests. 
One estimate put the cost at $200 per test.

The latest state teachers contract, ratified in May 2007, includes a 
provision that allows for random drug testing of Hawai'i's 13,500 
public school teachers. The contract was ratified by 61 percent of 
the union's members.

The American Civil Liberties Union last September sent a letter to 
Lingle demanding the state halt plans to randomly drug-test public 
school teachers, saying it would violate their constitutional right to privacy.

At last night's BOE meeting at Kahuku High & Intermediate School, 
several people spoke against the program, saying it was unnecessary 
and unconstitutional.

Graham Boyd, an attorney for the ACLU, said that other random drug 
programs were not effective in identifying problems and this one 
would be a waste of money as well as being unconstitutional. After 
the vote he said it was an excellent result but that the issue isn't over.

"What was very clear to me is this board is uncomfortable with the 
idea of drug testing and also taking the money out of student 
support," Boyd said.

Robin Fancy, who had been a school librarian on Lana'i, said the 
testing program is unnecessary and insulting to teachers. Fancy lost 
her job because of budget cuts, the library lost its program funding 
and the librarian spends her own money to buy supplies, Fancy said.

"We need money to go back into the schools and restore lost 
positions," said Fancy, who is interning at Pauoa Elementary School 
while finishing work on a master's degree.

Department of Education Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said the 
department was prepared to use the $400,00 from its Impact Aid fund, 
but all that would have paid for is the program's protocols and 
training. More money would be needed to sustain the testing and that 
was not included in the supplemental budget submitted by the Lingle 
administration, she said.

"We need some assurance that this is something we can sustain, 
otherwise we'll be pulling funding from other programs," Hamamoto 
said. "As superintendent I believe the (classroom) programs we have 
in the department are critical to our movement to creating 21st 
century graduates."

Drug testing for teachers became an issue following several 
high-profile cases that included the arrests of four teachers on 
drug-related charges.

Leilehua High School teacher Lee Anzai, arrested in October 2006 and 
charged with selling crystal methamphetamine, pleaded guilty to a 
single count of selling the drug and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Two months later, two Mililani Middle School teachers were arrested 
for allegedly smoking marijuana before they showed up for work on a 
Monday morning. Each pleaded no contest to the petty misdemeanor charge.

Last October Ka'elepulu Elementary School resource teacher Bronwyn 
Kugle was sentenced to 37 months in prison for multiple drug 
offenses, including conspiring to distribute 1 kilogram of cocaine 
and more than 1,089 Ecstasy tablets. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake