School Districts May Widen Drug Testing

The Oxnard high school district will give no drug tests to students even though a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gives them that power, but other high schools in western Ventura County could expand voluntary programs already in place, officials said Wednesday.

Although the court ruling clears the way for schools to conduct random urine tests to see if students are using illegal drugs, Oxnard Union High School District Supt. Bill Studt said he does not intend to change his district’s policy.

“As long as I am superintendent of this district, there will be no drug testing of students,” Studt said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s not the responsibility of schools to make sure kids aren’t doing drugs or drinking. That’s mom and dad’s job.”

But at least one Ventura County school district may take advantage of the court ruling. Thousand Oaks school leaders said drug testing may be a way to curb escalating drug use among teen-agers.

“I am delighted to see tools being put back into the hands of school districts whose responsibility it has become to assist society in their efforts to control drug use in this country,” Conejo Valley Unified School District Supt. Jerry C. Gross said of Monday’s ruling. Gross said he would support drug testing if Thousand Oaks parents, students and administrators support the idea. “Schools are going to be made aware that it is an option,” he said. “They may want to pursue this.”

Other Ventura County educators were less certain about their position. Officials in Ojai and Simi Valley said they needed to study the court ruling before making any decisions.

“I’m not sure it will mean anything for us for a while,” said Rebecca Wetzel, testing and programs director for the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Wetzel does not see the need to launch a mandatory drug testing program since a voluntary program is already in place at Royal High School. “If we had nothing in place, I’d be more tempted,” she said.

Royal football Coach Gene Uebelhardt said “100%” of his football players have submitted to voluntary testing since he has been coach, and “if we weren’t 100%, I wouldn’t want to coach the team.”

He said he has never heard of anyone testing positive or refusing to be tested.

The Ventura Unified School District adopted a voluntary testing program for athletes earlier this year, but participation appears to be spotty.

Ramsey Jay, a Ventura High track star who just graduated, said he was tested this year. He didn’t mind the hassle, he said, because random testing ensures that athletes are not taking steroids or other illegal drugs to boost performance.

“People like me who play it straight will benefit from this,” said Jay, 18, who will attend USC on a track scholarship this fall.

Chadd Kahlsdorf, who played football at Ventura High before graduating this month, said he was never asked to take a test. Although he supports random testing of athletes to make sure the “school’s image is clean,” Kahlsdorf is skeptical of the broad powers given to educators.

“I feel like the students should have a little more say in what happens,” Kahlsdorf said. “It seems like the Supreme Court doesn’t feel we’re people and they just dictate whatever is necessary.”

Reactions to the decision were mixed among students and parents Wednesday.

“I’m totally in favor of it,” Westlake High School graduate Scott Nussbaum said. “When it comes to drugs, you can’t be too hard on the subject. Anything [school officials] can do to reduce the drug problem, they should have the right to do and should do.”

But other students question whether drug testing violates their privacy and civil rights.

“I don’t know if it should be legal to test you,” said Kristi Fox, 17, a Newbury Park High School senior. “I think that most of the time when a student walks on a school campus, they lose all their rights.”

But Newbury Park parent Dennis Turville contends: “If you’re clean, you don’t have anything to hide.”

Simi Valley Trustee Norm Walker also supports the Supreme Court decision, and said mandatory drug testing could be a way of curbing student drug use in his district.

“If it helps one kid stay away from drugs that would ruin their life,” he said, “it seems to me there is some beneficial outcome.”

Wilson is a Times staff writer, Saillant is a correspondent. Times staff writer Jeff Fletcher also contributed to this story.