SPARTA -- The testing equipment was already purchased in anticipation of a September start, but students at Sparta High School won't be subject to random drug tests until at least October, if at all.

A proposal before the New Jersey State Board of Education could require all schools with random drug testing programs to use state-licensed laboratories for every test, which could significantly increase the cost of the program approved by the Sparta Board of Education in June.

At a work session meeting last week, the local board decided to hold off on the program's implementation until the state makes a decision on the policies, which is expected to come in October.

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SPARTA - When Sparta High School Principal Richard Lio presented a plan in April for a random drug testing program for the district -- a first for Sussex County public schools -- he told the Board of Education to expect questions and criticism.

The plan was adopted about three weeks ago, setting the stage for the program to be in place by September, but school officials have not yet met with the level of resistance they thought awaited them.

"I thought this might be one of those things where we do the right thing but get beat up (for it)," Board President Michael Schiavoni said Friday. "But that has not been the case."

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SPARTA -- Starting in September, Sparta Middle School students may be asked to participate in random testing for substance abuse.

Students in the high school might be required to be tested.

Sparta High School Principal Richard Lio made a presentation describing a potential random drug testing program Wednesday night to the district's Board of Education. If Lio's plan is adopted, a possibility in the next two months, Sparta would be the first public school in Sussex County to have a random drug testing program. Pope John XXIII Regional High School is the only county school with such a program.

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