Dec. 9, 2003

After hearing an update on the recently formed Drug Task Force, the USD 470 board of education unanimously approved a contract with Interquest Canine Detection agency.

The Task Force was organized due to evidence of increasing drug-related situations at the high school.

"We strongly believe this is not just a high school student problem, to be solved by high school staff only," Superintendent Dr. Perry L. Perkins said. "We believe it is also a community adult problem to be addressed by the community."

The Drug Task Force has increased in membership since it began to nearly 40 members. There is interest and concern in this topic. The Task Force has had three, two-hour meetings. The discussions have been very open and even intense at times; this is an intense topic, Perkins said.

"We want to thank all of the members of the Drug Task Force for their interest, advice and ideas," Perkins said. "We also want to thank the board of education President Daren Reese and Vice President Gary Wilson for attending all the meetings."

Arkansas City High School Assistant Principal Marci Shearon told the board there has been a dramatic increase in the number of suspensions for illegal substances. The number of suspensions for illegal substances has increased 154 percent from 2001 to 2003 (for the same time period). The total number of suspensions has increased 45 percent from 2001 to 2003 (for the same time period).

During the 2002-2003 school year, 30 high school students were suspended for illegal substances. As of Dec. 1, 2003, 34 students have been suspended for illegal substances.

Shearon said there is a correlation between illegal substances and violent offenses and defiant behavior. Violent offenses include battery, aggravated battery and fighting. Defiant behavior includes flagrant misbehavior toward staff or other students.

Shearon said she and Ben Smith, ACHS assistant principal, spend an enormous amount of time dealing with suspension issues.

"We are vigilant in handling [illegal substance violations]," Shearon said. "Mr. Smith and I want our kids to be safe and healthy."

The high school administration recommended the Interquest program to the board. Interquest is a private canine detection program. The detection canines find what others cannot, including weapons, alcoholic beverages and abused medications.

"We believe our presence is invaluable toward the deterrence and prevention of young students considering drug abuse and violence," Stephen Mortensen, vice president of Interquest, said."

Interquest will provide random unannounced visits to the high school via the use of non-aggressive specially trained Golden and Labrador Retriever canines. The high school campus will be check periodically to reduce and hopefully eliminate unwanted contraband. The program will be closely monitored and results reported during the remainder of the school year.

Interquest agents do not interact with students without administration present. Dogs do not alert on students; they are trained not to sniff people. Interquest agents and canines will search only unoccupied classrooms. The dog will alert to the desk where a student who possessed contraband was sitting. The canines will also search lockers, parking lots, restrooms, common areas, gym areas and other areas as assigned. The canines are passive and will not harm property.

Mortensen said it is not his objective to "catch" students but to help them make better choices. He said random searches are constitutional and that Interquest never allows its clients to operate outside the law.

Interquest will host an all-school assembly for the students some time in December, before the canines are brought in to search the school.

The Task Force also discussed a multi-agency team to handle school drug and illegal contraband possession follow-ups. The team would meet with students who are caught in possession of illegal drugs or contraband in violation of school policy on school property. The purpose of that meeting is to meet with the offending student and the student's parents to determine future action that may result against the violating student.

The high school administration and the Arkansas City Police Department are both very willing to participate in this team, ACHS Principal Mike Adams said. The other proposed members of the team include the Cowley County Attorney Office, SRS, Juvenile Justice Office and others. Adams said he could not guarantee that someone from SRS would be involved.

Adams and Perkins said the multi-agency team is still in the planning process and not ready to be implemented. Work still needs to be done before the team could become active. Perkins said Bert Wilson, board attorney, still has some questions about the multi-agency team that need to be worked through before it could be implemented.

"Our concern is that we're not doing enough for students who are caught," Adams said. "The goal is to provide aftercare."

Gary Wilson said the multi-agency approach offers a better chance to get proper help for violating students.

"We don't want to take a child and say 'you're gone,'" he said.

The cost for the Interquest contract for the remainder of the school year is $6,000, and the source of funding is the County Alcohol Tax Allocation provided to USD 470 by the City of Arkansas City.

In other business, the board:

• Approved a copier bid with the option to explore options and maintenance.
• Approved board policies JA through JFCA with the exception of JCE, JFAB and JFAC, which will be further examined by the Administrative Council and brought back to the board at a later date.
• Approved the submission of a math Professional Development Title II, Part B, grant to the Kansas State Department of Education in the amount of $70,543 for three years.
• Accepted the FY 2003 audit letter of Parman, Tanner, Soule and Jackson.

The next regular meeting of the board will be Jan. 12, 2004, at 7 p.m. at ACHS. All meetings of the board are open to the public.

Back to Board Briefs

For comments, questions or technical assistance, please contact the webmaster