Drug forum attracts crowd

School district presents case for mandatory drug testing

By OLIVIA KOERNIG / Whitefish Pilot

At a community forum about a new drug and alcohol testing proposal Monday night, the Whitefish school district revealed that a previously released statistic on the prevalence of marijuana use among its high school students was incorrect.

On March 31, a statement sent to the Pilot on behalf of the district's drug testing committee cited a recent chemical-use survey "suggest(ing) that nearly 90 percent of the students have used marijuana at least once." At the forum, however, that figure was revealed to be much lower — 47.4 percent.

"We don't need to get caught up in surveys and statistics," assistant high school principal Jeff Peck said. "We need to listen to our student body."

The statistics in question come from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The Montana Office of Public Instruction conducts the survey every two years in accordance with requirements for receiving federal Safe and Drug Free School funding.

Last spring, 4,030 Montana students participated in the survey, including 96 from Whitefish High School, or 16 percent of the student body.

While the actual figure on marijuana-use is lower than previously stated, the number of students using illegal substances is still unacceptable, school administrators say. The policy, they say, may give kids one more defense against potentially harmful experimentation.

"We're not going to bury our heads in the sand and hope this is going to go away," Peck said. "We have a legal responsibility and duty to look out for young people."

When the school board was presented a proposal for mandatory drug testing for all students involved in extracurricular activities, they decided to host a public forum to gather feedback from the community.

"The only decision that's been made is to host this forum," superintendent Jerry House said. "This is not an argument. This is a time to share insights."

The forum lasted more than three hours. Nearly 200 people gathered in the Whitefish Middle School auditorium to hear a presentation by a 12-person panel that included coaches, administrators, a physician and students.

Juniors Ellen Scheffer, David FauntLeRoy and Carly Lengstorf expressed their support of the policy. Scheffer participates in speech and debate and golf. FauntLeRoy competes in basketball and track, and Lengstorf plays soccer.

"There is a problem," FauntLeRoy said. "Participants show up to practice and games impaired."

Lengstorf told a compelling tale about the girls soccer season. Following their win at semifinals in Hamilton, the players planned a celebration. That evening, three players were charged with MIP and were unable to play in the state championships.

"That was the worst feeling in the world," Lengstorf said. "At the first committee meeting I went to, they asked me if I thought it would've been different if alcohol testing was in place, and I said, 'Well, yeah.' "

Joe Malletta, a former superintendent in Bigfork and Idaho, contrasted his experience in a district with a drug testing policy and one without. He said in Bigfork, after adopting a zero-tolerance policy, 12 students were expelled. He said he saw more favorable results within the Idaho district with the testing policy.

"In five years, I never received the name of one kid, and no parents asked for a hearing with the school district," he said. "What was happening is it was working."

When the forum was turned over to community members, more than 20 people addressed the room, including students, parents and experts. Only five people explicitly opposed the proposal.

Rex Harris and his son Evan, a senior at Whitefish High, both asked the board to adopt the policy. Evan said that after winning the state championship as a junior, he and another player quit the soccer team his senior year because of widespread drug and alcohol abuse.

"On the team, you had a hard time finding five guys who we hadn't heard about using drugs and alcohol," Evan said. "I didn't want to be a part of it."

Rex expanded on his son's words, saying he felt "abandoned by Bulldog soccer" and calling its athletic drug policy "a joke."

Another student echoed the Harris' views on the lax policies at the school, but did not support testing.

"This plan seems awfully reactive," senior Owen Goble said. "All it seems to do is strike fear into the hearts of children."

Peck replied that the program was meant to change a culture.

"Is this the means?" Goble demanded. "If you truly feel you've exhausted all resources, then I feel I've been failed. I don't feel a great deal has been invested in drug and alcohol education for me and my peers."

Parents whose own children had gotten into trouble with drugs, Michelle Reimer and Ron Clem said the policy was a great way to reinforce what parents are telling their kids at home — that using drugs and alcohol is unacceptable.

Steve Bryson and Andy Hudak, local drug counseling experts who are also parents of Whitefish students, expressed grave concern for the proposal.

The men agreed that Whitefish has a problem but expressed doubt that drug testing is the best solution. Both cited a recent policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics stating reservations about the safety and efficacy of school-based testing programs. The academy currently opposes drug testing.

"I encourage you to talk to people who aren't as like-minded," Hudak suggested. "You probably know about the best study, but you didn't talk about it, and I don't understand that."

House invited anyone with further concerns to e-mail him at housej@wfps.k12.mt.us. The public was also encouraged to attend the next school board meeting on April 22.