School Board Candidate Responds to Recent Drug Policy Change

Andrea Schmidt is a candidate for the Fairbury Public Schools Board of Education. Here, she responds to the recent decision by the school board to eliminate the Extracurricular Drug Testing Program. I am very sad and disappointed with the decisions of the SBOE to eliminate drug testing. I would like to thank the administration for the positive feedback on the benefits they see from drug testing. Building those valuable student/staff relationships is key to helping our youth stay on the right path.Drugs and nicotine are highly addictive especially to young students whose brains are still developing. Addiction is real and causes lifelong consequences to not only the addict but their future spouses, children, jobs and virtually anyone associated with them. If we can help one student stay away from drugs and nicotine these drug tests are worth it. I believe that the fact that these random tests were in place helped deterred many of our students from giving in to peer pressure. Education is key and what better of a place to help parents educate their children than at school. In many homes parenting is falling short. I believe schools are next in line to help children stay on the right track especially if they do not have that direction at home.As far as government overreach is concerned, many of these students will find themselves employed by jobs that drug test. The harsh reality is that they won’t receive a 14 day slap on the wrist, instead they will receive a job termination. Teaching them in high school that there are laws that need to be followed would be greatly beneficial to their future.I have students who attend Fairbury Jr Sr High School and I can tell you without a doubt that drugs and nicotine are a major problem for kids. In my opinion, the benefits of drug testing far outweigh the negatives.

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