Saratoga News

High school board to look at drug testing of students

By Clarence Cromwell

Saratoga's High School students may have one more test to take next year under a districtwide plan pushed by Los Gatos administrators: a urine test to detect traces of narcotics.

In Los Gatos, pressure from parents and a scientific survey showing higher-than-average drug use among Los Gatos High School students has put pressure on school officials to crack down on drug abuse.

Before the summer ends, the school board is expected to decide on a districtwide drug-testing policy that would crack down hard on students who use drugs--including those at SHS.

The current plan is for mandatory drug tests for all students involved in extracurricular activities, said Los Gatos assistant principal Craig Heimbichner, the administrator charged with drawing up a proposal for the school board.

SHS officials have had no input on the proposal because the committee included only parents and administrators from Los Gatos High School, and Principal Kevin Skelly said he opposes the plan for that reason.

"My sense is that our community is not ready for, or interested right now, in drug testing," Skelly said. "I think I would oppose it at this time. I think our communtiy would have to have some discussion about the need for it before you could ever launch into that."

Asked whether student drug use is serious at Saratoga High, Skelly said, "That's something we need to take a look at." Saratoga High will conduct a survey in the fall to determine the level of drug use at the school, the same type of survey that Los Gatos administered in the spring.

The Los Gatos plan would test only a portion of the student body.

"Initially, it would start with athletes, but the goal would be to test anyone representing the school," Heimbichner said.

LGHS already uses a drug dog to flush out students who carry narcotics on campus, but the tests would detect use of marijuana--the most popular drug among Los Gatos students--for up to 30 days after ingestion.

Heimbichner said since athletes take a no-drugs pledge, he sees no conflict in testing for drugs that may have been consumed off campus on students' own time.

"If you ask if there's a conflict there, I'd say no," Heimbichner said.

But that standard probably wouldn't be extended to all students, Heimbichner said.

"In general, we're here to keep the campus safe," he said. "Off campus ... it has to be between the students and their parents. We're not going to wave a magic wand and solve the community's problems."

The high school board ordered a study on drug testing at the beginning of the school year, after a group of parents demanded random tests for football players. At the time, board members said they wanted to eventually see a districtwide policy on drug testing.

Los Gatos football coach Butch Cattolico said his no-drugs pledge hasn't been enough to keep some football players clean in recent years.

The committee, comprised of parents, teachers and administrators, concluded that random testing would be the best solution. The committee will propose a program modeled on the drug-testing program at schools in Dixon, Calif.

But the committee must convince trustees to budget money for the program. School employees would be paid to administer tests, and eventually, the district would buy testing materials.

Cattolico said he's recommended that tests be mandatory for all students involved in extracurricular activities. In Dixon, school officials test only the athletes.

The decision is expected to go before trustees this summer.

Los Gatos has already conducted one sweep of the campus with a drug-sniffing dog. Principal Ted Simonson is arranging for a private firm to contract the dog's services to the school district next year. The dogs can detect drugs inside students' book bags, purses, cars and lockers.

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