ALEXANDRIA - More than 1,600 students in Campbell County Schools who belong to the marching band or athletic teams, or who park on school property at the high school or middle school, will be subject to random drug tests beginning Jan. 1.

        The five-member school board on Monday unanimously approved the policy for students at Campbell County Middle School and Campbell County High School. The district's Random Drug Testing Policy Committee came up with the policy, which mostly incorporates ideas from the Kentucky School Boards Association.There was no opposition at the board meeting and no one in the audience spoke. No students attended.

        “The goal is to do this as a deterrent,” Superintendent Roger Brady said after the meeting. “It helps keep everybody clean and straight. And it sends a message that we will not tolerate illegal drug use on school property. I think there is drug use among our high school population, but I think schools mirror society.”

        School officials have said there was no incident that prompted the policy.

        First-time offenders will lose their parking privileges and/or will not be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities for four weeks. A second offense calls for students to be banned for 18 weeks, and a third offense will result in students losing their privileges for the remainder of their eligibility. Students who test positive also will be required to enroll in a school-approved drug program.

        Twenty percent of the students who park on school grounds and who participate in extracurricular activities will be tested. The district is expected to contract with an outside agency to conduct the drug tests. Initially, the district will pay the $30 it costs for each test, but beginning in 2003-04, the cost will be absorbed by raising fees for parking and extracurricular activities.

        Mr. Brady sits on the committee that also includes middle and high school officials, parents and a school board member. They will determine procedures for implementing the policy, as well as how often students will be tested.

        “We need to let the students know that we're concerned for them,” said school board Chairwoman Carol Dunn. “We hear stories that there are massive drug problems.”

        District officials say drug-sniffing dogs have not found any heroin during random searches of the middle and high schools over the past two years. Campbell County police said heroin is the drug of choice among a growing number of 14- to 25-year-olds in the county.

        The National School Boards Association does not keep track of districts with drug-testing policies, but about two dozen public school districts in Kentucky have mandatory or voluntary drug testing. They include Dayton, Erlanger-Elsmere, Grant County and Pendleton County districts in Northern Kentucky. In Ohio, Mason City Schools has had a voluntary random drug-testing program since 1997 for high school students.

        In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public high school students who participate in extracurricular programs could be tested for drugs.

        John Schmidt, principal of Grant's Lick Elementary School, said the drug-testing policy is a good idea. He has two children - Whitney, a sophomore, and Zachary, a senior - who would be affected by the new policy.

        “As a parent, I have no problem with (the policy). It could provide me with information - not that I suspect anything,” Mr. Schmidt said. “It also sends a message that we want a drug-free society.”

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