Parents Share Comments on Random Drug-Testing Proposal

Jim Cairo had a sobering message for community members at Wednesday night's forum on District 95's proposed random drug-testing policy.

Cairo said on Aug. 31, he and his family remembered what would have been his brother's 50th birthday. Cairo's brother died at age 22 due to drugs.

"He got into drugs when he was in high school," Cairo told the crowd that packed the Middle School North cafetorium. His brother, Cairo said, was an athlete in high school. "He came from a good family, he came from a good neighborhood and he's dead.

"I'm here for my brother's life," said Cairo. "Let him be a lesson. I'm not saying this process is good. I'm not saying this process is bad. We need something. Open your minds a little bit. I want our children to live."

The majority of comments shared by people at the forum Wednesday were against the proposed drug-testing policy. Parents cited a variety of reasons. One woman said the policy would create an environment of fear. Many parents said dealing with whether or not a child uses drugs should be dealt with within a family, not in school. Others said they feel parents should be allowed to vote on the issue.

A received 46 votes: 13 people said they support the proposal, while 33 people voted against the proposal.

"You haven't shown us any real evidence of a drug problem in this community," parent Keith Petropoulos told the board. He added that "a school's job is to educate and prepare" and that the district needs to have "open, honest meetings" with parents and let them vote on the issue.

Here's a sample of some of the other comments shared at the forum:

• Kim Roche said sometimes the only outlet a student has is to participate in activities. Should the student test positive for drugs, "you're punishing them to isolation." She suggested allowing students to perform community service as an alternative. Roche also suggested bringing in drug-sniffing dogs. "It is addressing a drug problem on school property, and it covers every student."

• "I feel very strongly that this is a community issue," said Dan Lesus. While he agrees that alcohol and drugs have no place around children, he questions how a policy to randomly test students would help. "Are we investing in the right approach?" he asked. He also questioned why Lake Zurich can't lead and adopt a policy that helps everyone.

• William Englehardt agreed that drugs should not be allowed in school but wishes the district could find another way to handle the issue.

• One parent expressed concern that false positives could happen should a student ingest poppy seeds or certain prescription drugs.

• A "concerned parent of two" asked on a comment card: "How bad is the drug problem at Lake Zurich High School compared to others?" (Police Chief Patrick Finlon said it's no different than any other high school he's aware of. "We do have issues. We encounter issues every year," said Finlon.)

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Read more about the proposed policy.