Money for drug testing sought

Random drug testing of student athletes might soon become a routine for eight area public high schools after a decision by the Clark County School Board on Thursday to pursue federal funding.

The School District is following the lead of Green Valley High School in Henderson, which began drug testing in January.

Jeff Horn, the principal of Green Valley, said the program has shown results. Only seven students, or 3 percent, have tested positive out of the total of 245 students tested.

The results show that either drug use is minimal or else "it's an effective deterrent," Horn said.

If nothing else, the program has heightened awareness of drug use.

"The kids are talking," Horn said.

Joining Green Valley in random drug testing are Eldorado, Mojave, Centennial, Foothill, Durango, Desert Pines and Del Sol if the district gets a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Education Department to fund the program. Green Valley, whose drug program has been paid for by community donations, also would receive the funding.

The drug testing would start in January after six months of planning. It would be funded through June 30, 2011. The School Board unanimously approved the grant application with Trustee Sheila Moulton making sure that money from the general fund would not be used for the program.

The principals who volunteered their schools for the drug testing said they want to confront the drug problem. Last school year, 479 students, or less than 1 percent of the high school population, were either suspended or expelled for distributing drugs on campus, according to district accountability reports.

Most of the high schools applying for money for drug testing had about 20 expulsions or suspensions for distributing drugs on campus last year.

"I don't think we have a bigger problem than anybody else in the nation," Horn said. "We just wanted to do something about it."

Trent Day, principal of Centennial High School, said schools are a reflection of society, but he added, "We don't have a major drug or alcohol issue."

Elba Rocha, assistant principal of Del Sol High School, said the school is trying to be progressive.

"We're trying to be preventative rather than dealing with this after the fact," Rocha said.

Horn said a few parents at Green Valley voiced objections to random drug tests on the basis of civil liberties, but the Supreme Court approved random drug tests for students participating in extracurricular activities in 2002.

Otherwise, the reaction has been mostly positive, Horn said. The parents of 25 non-student athletes have signed up their children for the program at Green Valley.

Day said parents think the drug tests will mean less stress for their children.

"Parents feel if we have a program in place, we can take peer pressure off their children," Day said. "If they're offered drugs on a Saturday night, they can say 'No, I might be tested on Monday.' "

Rocha, the assistant principal at Del Sol, said parents will have an opportunity to provide input before the program is implemented.

"I'm sure we'll go into town hall meetings to discuss this with the parents," Rocha said.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4686.