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Well done, school board
By Wayne Trotter, Tecumseh Countywide News
WINNING Editorial-July 2002
Having spent a great deal of time, money and worry affirming their right to do so, it would have been remarkable if the Tecumseh Board of Education had opted NOT to reinstate its policy on drug testing. The board, of course, voted unanimously to move ahead with the policy in a reasoned way when school opens in the fall. It also voted to make a few changes in what has been regarded as such a clear and well-written policy that it withstood the harshest scrutiny it could encounter, that of the nation's highest court.
The most important of those changes properly removes the requirement that students will be charged $4 to cover the costs of the tests. That's a sensible approach both from a practical and a philosophical standpoint. While making the students pay for the tests is clearly legal, it amounts to an irritant that Tecumseh doesn't need. Like sending the electric bill to the family of an executed man, it's just not the right
thing to do.
As far as we're concerned, the whole point in having the tests is to protect students as individuals and the school as a whole against the dangers of drugs. To the extent that this is a common safety issue, the cost ought to be borne in a common manner just as other safety costs are. Rather than assessing each individual student a fee to cover costs of locks and alarms and other devices designed to protect them, the bill is passed along to the taxpayers. The drug test is a service to protect them and as long as the money is available, that bill should also be passed along to the community.
We were concerned that the board felt it was necessary to discuss that and other changes behind closed doors. Although we understand that the law allows them that privilege as long as the case is open (which it will be until a final order is entered), the support of the community was vital in winning this case. It was significant to us that when lawyers for the school board appeared before the Supreme Court, they cited the fact that the policy had been thoroughly explained to the community prior to going into effect. It was a key part of the argument.
Normally, the reason for maintaining confidentially during a lawsuit is to keep information from the other side. That no longer applies. This case has been decided by the highest court in the land. For all practical purposes, it's over. Tecumseh trusted the school board to do its job and the board did it well. It's a little disturbing, that with all the support they received, members of the school board don't now feel free to return that trust by including the public in their important discussions. By now, you'd think they'd know that we're all in this together. We're on the same side.
But that's beside the point. The important thing is that by changing the policy and eliminating the provision to charge the $4 fee, the Tecumseh Board of Education demonstrated what most of its patrons knew all along and what the Supreme Court must have sensed: This is a reasonable policy drafted and administered by a reasonable system for the good of all the students.
Well done, school board.
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