Published: July 16, 2008 11:12 am            

Close mouth, fill cup

• Stillwater school board votes for drug test method change

This year, it will be urine, not saliva.

The Stillwater Board of Education on Tuesday approved changing from mouth swabs to urine tests for drug testing of students participating in athletics and activities.

The change was made at the request of athletic director Mike Simpson, who said the urine test is better for determining whether a student has used marijuana. According the Simpson, the mouth swab can only detect marijuana use for three days, while the urine test will work up to 30 days.

Simpson said he was made aware of the difference last school year when a student tested negative for marijuana use but further investigation revealed the student had in fact used marijuana within days of the test.

According to Simpson’s presentation to the board, mouth swabs cost $15 each while urine tests cost “in the $25 range.”

The board did receive good news on the budget during Tuesday’s meeting. Phillip Storm, the district’s chief financial officer, reported the ending fund balance for the just-completed school year will be close to 7.5 percent, or more than $2.5 million. In the previous three years, the ending balance has not exceeded 5.83 percent. In 2004, it was 7.23 percent.

The ending balance is used to begin operations for the next school year before state aid arrives.

In other business Tuesday, the board:

• Approved a contract to use a parking lot southeast of the high school campus. The board agreed to pay $500 each month for up to 70 spaces where the Caribbean Ice stand is located. Parking will be at a premium this year due to construction of the football stadium on the north side of the high school.

• Heard from Superintendent Ann Caine that she had called each family affected by the elementary school redistricting plan approved June 19. Caine said she made her final call at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“It was an amazing way for me to meet our patrons,” Caine said. “It wasn’t all painful. There were a lot of happy people.”

Board member Kevin Clark added he had received “lots of positive phone calls.”

“You’ve impressed a lot of people by doing that,” Clark said.

        

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