Washington Township to look out for steroids, By: Martin C. Bricketto
August 31, 2006
WASHINGTON TWP. -- High school athletes will be randomly tested for steroids following policy changes approved by the local school board this week.
The board had been considering adding to the district's current drug testing policy for the past several months.
The panel also decided to allow for the testing the entire school year for athletes -- both in season and out of season.
Board member Charles Earling was part of an 18-member state task force assembled last year to explore use of performance-enhancing drugs and prevention.
"We're talking about students' health and safety," Earling said. "(Steroids) have been found to kill students or create medical problems through their life."
One result of that task force was an executive order from then Acting Gov. Richard Codey mandating steroid tests for those student athletes competing in state tournaments, which are overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).
A hurdle in implementing steroid testing locally has been cost. While a basic drug test costs $18, a steroid test costs $120, according to Susan Reintzel, the district's director of student services.
The district plans on testing 50 percent of its 1,300 student athletes during the upcoming school year, officials said. Of those 650 students, samples from 85 percent would undergo the regular battery of tests, while 15 percent would undergo the regular battery as well as testing for steroids.
The district budgets $20,000 annually for drug testing, and would stay within that line item, according to officials.
Students who test positive can be banned from a sport for one season or the length of their years at the high school, depending on the number of offenses they accrue.
Washington Township is one of 14 districts statewide that have random drug testing policies, according to Mike Yaple, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. Other local districts include Clearview Regional High School and West Deptford High School.
Bob Baly, assistant director of the NJSIAA and a member of the state task force, described steroid testing as a deterrent for student athletes confronted by professional role models who may use performance enhancing drugs, not to mention the pressure to succeed.
"Unfortunately, if you tell (student athletes) you're going to get sick when you're 40 or 50 if you use steroids in your teenage years, I don't think they realize what effect that has," Baly said.
A 2004 study by the office of National Drug Control Policy found that 1.9 percent of eighth-grade students, 2.4 percent of high school sophomores, and 3.4 percent of high school seniors had used steroids at least once. The study also found that 42 percent of participating high school seniors said that anabolic steroids were "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain.
It remains to be seen if other districts in the state will join Washington Township.
Yaple noted that despite state and federal court decisions allowing schools to randomly test students for drugs, there has not been a significant increase in the number of district doing so.
Under state law, teachers have the ability to report students suspected of using illegal substances to administration, who can test for drugs including steroids, Yaple said.
In 2005, the district polled 700 parents of middle and high school students on the course the district's drug testing policy should take.
Of the 194 that responded, more than 60 percent felt the drug testing should be extended to include all students involved in extracurricular activities or those who apply for parking on school property.
Reintzel said the district is not immediately considering an additional expansion of the drug testing policy.
Walt Pietrzyk is one parent who voiced his support for steroid testing on Wednesday.
Pietrzyk, a youth football board member with one son in high school and two younger sons in elementary school, said unlike the steroids he is prescribed by his doctor to treat symptoms from multiple sclerosis, steroids aren't helping the youngsters who use them.
"They're them when they're in college, they're testing them in the pros, and they should be testing them now," Pietrzyk said.
In related business this week, the school board approved the purchase of alcohol sensors for use at school-sponsored events including dances and class trips. The high school administration hopes to acquire 10 of the devices, known as Passive Breath Alcohol Sensor Devices.
School organizations will raise funds to cover the cost of the machines, which cost approximately $400 each.
