School Board Ponders Random Drug Testing

At the Feb. 28 meeting of the Saucon Valley School Board, member Edward Inghrim proposed that the district implement drug testing for students involved in extracurricular activities.

Inghrim said he has been performing informal surveys of high school students about drug use in . He said students know other students who are selling and using drugs at .

“I don’t think Saucon Valley is unique,” Inghrim said. “The (drug) problem is pervasive throughout the country.”

“Ed hit the nail on the head,” said board member Lanita Lum. “Something needs to be done about this.”

Although Lum agreed with Inghrim's sentiment, she questioned why Inghrim would want only students participating in extracurricular activities to be tested. She said she believes every high school student should be subject to random testing.

Saucon Valley High School principal Eric Kahler said that currently if a student is believed to have drugs in the school, a drug-sniffing dog is used to search that student's locker (or in rare cases, their car). Kahler emphasized that while drug-sniffing dogs are used, he and assistant principal Lorie Gamble are the ones who search the lockers and not police officers.

The district will look into options for drug testing, but school board solicitor Mark Fitzgerald cautioned the board that they have to be very careful concerning random drug testing and drug searches. He said he is concerned about “towing the line of constitutional issues.”

School board members also brought up the idea of drug testing new district employees. Some were shocked that new district employees aren’t automatically screened for drugs before they begin working in the district.

Fitzgerald told the board that most school districts do not screen new employees for drugs, and that it is unlikely that Saucon Valley will drug test its employees.

The matter was not voted upon and there are still many unanswered questions for the district.

The district would still need to figure out where the drug testing would take place, who would be doing the testing, and what the consequences of a positive finding would mean for the student.