High
school drug tests catch one
Hackettstown High tests 70 over
first year of program.
Friday, July 22, 2005 • By ANDREA EILENBERGER
• The Express-Times
HACKETTSTOWN -- In its first year of
random drug testing among Hackettstown High School students,
district officials are pleased to learn that just one test
out of 70 returned positive results.
School officials decided last year to
implement the program to assess the level of drug use within
the school and to give kids another reason to just say
no.
"It seems to be doing what we had hoped,
and I'm not suggesting that we have eliminated drugs in
Hackettstown, because we haven't," board of education
President Bruce Smith said. "My hope is that kids aren't
going to do drugs period, and that the program would be an
across-the-board deterrent."
The tests screened for cocaine,
methamphetamine, amphetamine, opiates, barbiturates,
marijuana, morphine and benzodiazapem. The district spent
$1,525 for the random drug tests for the 70
students.
The pool consisted of 674 of the school's
nearly 1,000 high school students. Anyone who participated
in extracurricular activities or was issued a parking permit
was included. Parents could also opt to include their child
in the pool. Both students and parents signed consent
agreements.
If a student is suspected of being under
the influence of drugs during the school day, school
administrators are required by state law to set up an
immediate outside drug screen. Those students are then added
to the random testing pool, according to the school's
Student Assistance Counselor Stacy Heller.
This year, 39 students were sent for
suspicion testing, 29 of which tested positive for drug use.
That is about the same amount as in the last few years,
Heller said.
Between two and four students a week were
screened, and questionable results were confirmed by an
outside medical source. Students who test positive are
subject to a minimum of five meetings with a student
assistant counselor and are referred to an outside agency
for a substance abuse evaluation and appropriate
counseling.
"Drugs are a concern in every school. Any
administrator who says there is no drug problem in their
school isn't being truthful," board of education Vice
President Lorinda Ravo said.
Last year, officials held forums and
conducted research on other school testing programs before
deciding to implement the program, she said.
"There wasn't any one incident that
brought about the testing; it was our intent to improve the
culture and climate of the school," Ravo said.
Both students and parents were
cooperative with regards to the program, and some students
said it provided an excuse to turn down drugs, Heller said.
The threat of being ineligible to play in a game was enough
reason for some students to decline using drugs, she
said.
A self-reported student survey taken in
2004 showed that more than half had used marijuana, which
was more than the national average at the time of 46
percent. More than 90 percent of students completed the
survey, which was conducted by the American Drug and Alcohol
Survey, developed by the Rocky Mountain Behavioral
Institute.
As of the 2003-04 school year, the
student enrollment at the high school was 922.
Twelve percent of seniors reported having
tried cocaine, more than the national average of eight
percent. Out of the seniors, two percent reported trying
heroin, three percent reported trying PCP, and 11 percent
reported trying inhalants. These figures were in line with
the national average.
Officials plan to apply for a federal
grant that could help them test more students, screen for a
wider range of drugs or provide more intervention
services.
Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at
908-475-8044 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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