Random drug testing unlikely Swanton School Board plans to vote on issue tonight

By DREW STAMBAUGH

Enterprise News Editor

The Swanton School Board will likely vote to not implement random drug testing of athletes when they meet this week.

Federal funding will last at most through this school year and board members have voiced concern over using the testing just one year.

"The grant won't be continued," said Superintendent Paulette Baz. "Once that date is over it will fall on the school board to allocate the funds for the testing to continue beyond the grant."

The board appeared ready to vote on rescinding the board policy on random drug testing at their special meeting Wednesday, but took no action, wanting to make sure it was dealt with in the best possibly way. Board President Dennis Heban suggested tabling the measure until tonight's meeting "with the intention that it's going to be rescinded in some fashion."

Only having the random drug testing in place one year was a major sticking point.

"I just don't see the use in starting it for one year and then it being discontinued," said board member Jeff Michael. "I don't see why we would start off a process knowing that we're going to end it at a definite date."

Others agreed with that sentiment.

"I don't see where doing this for a year is going to be a direction that I'd like to take," Heban said. "Our policy, not withstanding this, for alcohol is pretty strong."

Baz said that there are separate policies already in place in the student handbook, as well as the athletic handbook.

The superintendent would like the board to take action on the testing as soon as possible so that she can alert students and parents of the change.

"It is in our athletic handbook and we have fall sports right around the corner," said Baz. "We have a parent meeting Aug. 13 and we need to know if we are going to go forward with drug testing."

The problems with the grant arose due to the length.

"This grant was submitted as a four-year grant," said treasurer Cheryl Swisher. "Because of a technicality it was only approved for two years."

District officials tried "desperately" to get the grant renewed, according to Swisher. They even went as far as contacting Congressman Bob Latta.

The Swanton Local School District received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement the drug testing program, along with the Evergreen School District.

It was randomly selected that Evergreen would start testing first, which they did last school year. Swanton was scheduled to start this year.

Alcohol grant

The Swanton School District recently received an federal alcohol reduction grant, but board members are not sure it is the best use of funds.

"A very small percentage is actually going to programs that will benefit the schools and community," Michael said. "That's disturbing that such a large percentage is going to, basically overhead."

He said that 75 to 80 percent of the money coming in will not go to programs directly effecting children the way the grant is currently written.

Heban said that $4,700 is going to curriculum needs of Swanton High School students, while the total grant is worth over $190,000. He added that most of the overhead would not be going to school district employees.

"If this is going to come out that the school board has turned down this money we haven't, we have turned down $5,000 not $194,000," Heban said. "Because most of that money's not coming to the school anyway."

"Grants are going to have strings, but these are ropes, these are chains," he added.

Heban and board member Michael Wiederman both said they were not comfortable accepting the grant in its current state.

"The fact of the matter is, the way this is written, the money could be better used someplace else," Swisher said. "The way this is written we don't feel this has enough tangible benefit to children in order to take that money out of the pot. We're trying to do the right thing here."

Board member Mona Dyke said she would like to wait to take action until she found out more about the grant. The board tabled making a decision until at least tonight's meeting.