Livingston BOE Candidate Says ‘No Random Drug Testing’ (Op-Ed)

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The following op-ed comes courtesy of James Calderon, Livingston Board of Education candidate, in connection with our article, “Livingston Schools May Start Random Drug Testing For Students.” Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Livingston is a special community as all those who live here very well know. Our town is known statewide for its outstanding school system, earning a Gold Medal from US News and World Report in 2017. Livingston High School (LHS) consistently ranks among the top-tier schools in the State of New Jersey, and it is currently ranked #11 by US News and World Report.

The current request for consideration of randomly drug testing the 1,846 students of LHS is not consistent with top-tier schools. LHS has a 12:1 teacher ratio and last year we began the 1:1 initiative, which allows our children to have greater contact with teachers and the great support that is often not afforded to other school districts. Our children have a consistent point of contact with teachers, counselors, deans, and principals at LHS. This support, in conjunction with parental support, is allowing our students to stay drug-free. Since 2012, LHS has reported on average six incidents of substance abuse (including alcohol), (http://www.state.nj.us/education/schools/vandv/) which is well below the mean of all state districts.

We must continue educating our children on the effects of drugs both to our health and the legal consequences of violating current drug laws. We need to imbed in our children’s minds the effects of drugs, by discussing both the perceived positives and outweighed negatives. As a community we need to take advantage of parent forums that are offered by the school district to understand the ways to discuss such issues with our children. As a board member, I would propose policy that any drug referenced subject be given under the guidance of the Health Department, as it is a health issue. And as such, approach it best with parents at hand. The proposed Random Drug Testing program does not give the parents the choice on how to deal with this issue. The proposal instead penalizes a student by having them surrender their extracurricular privileges if their parents make the choice of opting out of the Random Drug Testing program, which some may deem as intrusive.

Our district is up to the task of keeping our children safe from drugs without such measures as this proposed policy. Livingston is full of empathy and support, where we as a community can continue to give our children the best growing environment where their rights are not tested and the trust they have earned is respected.

• See related article: Random Drug Testing In Schools (Essex County Readers Speak)

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