Drug testing: No

To the editor: Regarding the Sparta School Board considering random drug testing in the schools (article Thursday, May 3 page 1), while the school board may believe that they’re acting in farmlies’ best interests, they are really eroding trust between parents, kids and teachers. As parents, we believe the issue of drugs is a family matter to be discussed with children on our own terms. Random drug testing in the schools usurps our role. This “guilty until proven innocent” approach is un-American. To call it “voluntary” while creating a system of punishment for those who do not comply, (i.e, not being allowed to participate in sports), is arbitrary and not truly voluntary. A recent New York Times article dealing with the issue of random drug testing in schools, (“Is This the Answer to Drug Use?”, March 25, 2007), cites a 2003 federally financed study by the University of Michigan that found “no evidence that testing lowered the abuse rate.” In order to help kids make the right decision about drugs, educators should focus their efforts on building trust between students and parents by emphasizing education and open dialogue - not by making them pee into a cup. Claudia and Raymond Ecke Sparta