School board asks for new drug testing policy

The Corbin Independent School District took the first step last week toward expanding its drug testing policy to include students who are in clubs, other extracurricular activities and drivers.
During the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education last Thursday, board members voted unanimously to draft a new, updated policy regarding testing. The move mirrors a trend statewide and nationally of school districts including more rigorous student testing in random samples that, in the past, only included athletes.
After reviewing five sample policies, Board Chairperson Debbie Cook said she favored more testing of both students and staff.
“I like the policies that expand on what we are already doing to include extracurricular activities and to consider driving a portion of that.”
She said expanded testing for staff would have to wait until next school year, but the new policy regarding students would likely take effect next semester.
The board studied policies from other districts that ran the gamut from few students being tested to virtually every student in all schools.
Cook said testing all students, or even 60 percent as some school district have done, would be unreasonable and asked that Corbin’s policy require only 10 percent of the student population affected be subject to tests.
Discussion on the issue first came up during last month when Jane Chandler, Corbin Schools Director of Special Education, gave a report to the board regarding a drug-testing summit she attended in Louisville.
Currently, the district randomly tests high school student athletes and bus drivers three times a year. The tests cost $18 each. The policy has been in place since Oct. 1, 1998. Chandler said there have been no positive tests in the last three years, and did not know how many students or bus drivers have ever tested positive since inception.
Chandler noted during June’s meeting that any policy regarding testing should be clear that a positive test would not automatically mean law enforcement intervention. Instead, she said, mandatory counseling or something similar would be offered.
Student athletes who test positive now are barred, for a time, from playing in official contests, but may still practice with their respective teams. She said an expanded policy would likely affect middle school students as well.
Board member Lisa Cleary said UNITE, a multi-county program created to battle drug abuse, had grants that would help pay for the cost of testing.
Board member Dr. Carmel Wallace asked if student-athletes tested now are screened for steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. Chandler said they aren’t, but that those drugs could be detected if they are selected as part of a five or 10 drug screening process. She added that the company that does testing for the Floyd County School System, whose policies Chandler recently studied prior to Thursday’s meeting, also provides random selection and gathering of students for testing for $20 per test. That school system randomly tests 60 percent of students and 40 percent of staff.
“We’re taking a lot of advice from a school district that has a history of not being managed correctly,” Wallace said, noting the Floyd County districts financial and management struggles.
Board members also discussed how to pinpoint which clubs and activities would qualify as extracurricular. Chandler said sample policies usually define that as groups that compete or meet regularly.
Cook said Board Attorney Bob Hammons would be given the task of defining “extracurricular” in the policy drafted for the district.
Wallace suggested making only students in activities that have a faculty sponsor subject to random tests.
“There’s got to be a line someplace and that seems to be the easiest one to draw.”
The board meets in special session Aug. 17, but won’t likely consider any policy proposal until next months regular meeting.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the first reading of a policy regarding expense reimbursements.
• Declared radios and antennas for the districts old area network as surplus property.
• Levied a property tax rate of 69.30 cents per $100 of assessed value on motor vehicles and watercraft for 2007 in Knox and Whitley Counties. Superintendent Ed McNeel said the rate is unchanged from last year.
• Reviewed an annual financial report.