Several reservation towns monitor athletes

By OLIVIA KOERNIG / Whitefish Pilot

The debate over a proposed random drug-testing program for Whitefish students continued at a Whitefish School Board meeting Tuesday, but there still was no consensus in sight.

A public forum on April 7 also didn°Ot yield a consensus, and results of a survey passed out that evening were similarly inconclusive.

°()()The feedback is probably pretty close to a dead split,°+/- Whitefish Superintendent Jerry House said. °()()Basically, we°Ore back to those who want it and those who don°Ot.°+/-

At Tuesday°Os board meeting, more than 70 people filed into the middle-school cafeteria to hear the latest news and to voice their own concerns.

Michael Newman, a veteran psychiatrist with 25 years of experience and director of Pathways Treatment Center, offered his assistance and asked questions about how the school district would know if the program worked, and how often it would be assessed. He asked what the precise objective of testing would be °(TM) to serve as a deterrent or as a means to get students help.

°()()As I see it, this isn°Ot the school°Os responsibility,°+/- he told the crowd. °()()But if this goes ahead, it needs to be a basis beyond not wanting kids to use drugs.°+/-

Newman called for a policy approached from a °()()rigorous, scientific°+/- stance, not an emotional one.

Still, emotions ran high. School Resource Officer Rob Veneman made an impassioned plea.

°()()We see the problems on a daily basis that, as parents, you don°Ot even know about,°+/- he said °()()We°Ore not providing kids the help they need. If it°Os not drug testing, that°Os fine, but we°Ove got to do something.°+/-

Proponents of random

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drug testing include the entire coaching staff at Whitefish High School, some parents and students and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Opponents include other parents and students, some local therapists and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Whitefish proposal includes not only athletes but also students of all other extracurricular activities such as cheerleading, band and speech and debate.

School districts in Hardin, Wolf Point, Browning and Poplar °(TM) all on Indian reservations °(TM) have been conducting drug testing on athletes for several years.

Colstrip, in Eastern Montana, performs random testing as well.

Hardin High School Assistant Principal John Leligdowiscz supports the testing and said he°Os become somewhat of an expert on the issue since Hardin°Os been testing its students for more than eight years. The school currently uses a combination of urinalysis and oral-swab testing. The school also conducts suspicion-based testing on students other than athletes. Leligdowiscz believes testing deters kids from using drugs, but admits it°Os not fail-safe.

°()()We have veteran users who know when the tests are coming up,°+/- he said. °()()They might be ahead of the game at times.°+/-

Leligdowiscz said no evaluation has been done to determine whether testing has deterred Hardin athletes from using drugs.

In Wolf Point, Athletic Director Mike Erickson, also supports random drug testing. Wolf Point has been testing athletes for about five years.

°()()In my mind, it°Os a very good thing °(TM) if it°Os run correctly,°+/- he said. °()()I think it°Os definitely a deterrent for athletes. Plus, now we can help these kids out.°+/-

Additionally, both Hardin and Wolf Point have full-time drug and alcohol counselors on campus. Poplar High School also employs a drug and alcohol coordinator.

House said Whitefish lacks funding to hire a full-time drug and alcohol counselor. At least in the beginning, a drug-testing program here would be privately funded.

While Montana has a few schools conducting random drug testing with some measure of success, it may only be a matter of time before such programs land those schools in court. That°Os what happened in Washington state.

Last month, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Wahkiakum School District°Os drug-testing policy, finding it violated students°O constitutional freedoms. The case was an appeal from a 2006 lawsuit filed against the school district by two sets of parents and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Local counselor Steve Bryson, who°Os been in private practice in Whitefish for 20 years, has particular concerns about the legalities of the proposal.

House said the district has yet to receive exhaustive legal counsel on the matter.

°()()There are many hoops to jump through °(TM) a lot of specifics,°+/- Bryson said. °()()I don°Ot think people in Whitefish are afraid of litigation.°+/-

Bryson said he°Os concerned for students°O rights, as well as the potentially damaging effects on relationships. He thinks random testing shows a lack of trust, instead operating on a °()()guilty until proven innocent°+/- mentality.

°()()Relationships are the best prevention,°+/- he said. °()()This will identify a few kids with drug problems, but it will alienate many more.°+/-

Still, while Bryson isn°Ot convinced random drug testing is the answer, he commends the school for its efforts and for opening up a public dialog.A6P5°()()We need to do something, but it°Os not shoot from the hip. It°Os not to act on emotion,°+/- he said. °()()That°Os not even good parenting, let alone good policy.°+/-

Ultimately, the fate of the program lies with the school board, which requested more information on additional forms of testing, like voluntary and suspicion-based testing. House was tasked with gathering more information for the school board to review and discuss at its May 27 meeting.

A trustee election for the three open seats will be held May 6.

°()()From all the testimony given, it°Os apparent there is a way of blending different types of testing,°+/- board chairperson Dave Fern said. °()()We°Ore interested in looking at alternatives.°+/-