Drug searches are at least worth a try

While the idea of having police canines nosing around junior high and

high schools may seem extreme to some, the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District has decided to bring back searches by drug-sniffing

dogs on local campuses.

The program was suspended several years ago due to lawsuits filed

in Northern California and other states by the American Civil

Liberties Union, claiming such searches were violations of students’

civil rights. It is being reinstated here at the request of

administrators and school resource officers.

The searches, which are to begin after spring break, will be

conducted once or twice a year at all secondary schools with the goal

of inspecting every campus by June 2006. Dogs may sniff around for

drugs stashed in lockers, but not in backpacks or clothing. The

district prohibits that.

In recent weeks, letters were sent home to parents informing them

of the pending inspections.

District officials did not cite a spike in student drug use as

reason for conducting searches again. In fact, Newport-Mesa campuses

have minimal drug problems when compared to other schools, they said.

That’s good news. And the district ought to keep us and the public

in the loop about how successful the program is once it’s reinstated.

Are drug-sniffing dogs on Newport-Mesa campuses an ideal

situation? Probably not.

But you can be sure that at Red Lake High School in Minnesota --

where Monday a 16-year-old fatally shot nine adults and students

before killing himself -- parents and students would gladly swap

their situation for ours.

It is a bitter reminder that schools are no longer the safe havens

they should be -- and must be again.

If occasional searches by dogs can help make that happen, it’s

worth a try.