Cup O’ Joe: Keep the random searches coming

Last week, Houlton High School closed its doors to the public for a short period of time to do something long overdue. The school conducted a random drug search of students’ lockers with the help of the Houlton Police Department and a K-9 dog from the Maine State Police.
    What they were looking for was simple – drugs. As residents of a small town, we would all like to think that such things were not going on in our schools. But the sad truth is they are. Children are experimenting with things like drugs and alcohol at younger and younger ages.
While specific findings of the searches were not released to the media, Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin stated no contraband was seized and no student was charged criminally in the matter. SAD 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer stated no “sizable” amounts of drugs were confiscated during the search.
Is the fact that nothing was seized by police an indication that nothing was found? Not necessarily. School officials were, naturally, cautious with the information that came out about the searches. And rightfully so. People tend to react first and ask questions later.
But parents also have a right to be concerned. These are different times for sure.
Two students were expelled from school on Monday, March 5, three days after the searches, at a regular SAD 29 school board meeting. Superintendent Hammer went on record to state that neither of those expulsions were a result of the drug search at the school.
School officials stated last Friday’s search was not a “lock down,” as that phrase is reserved for a time when students and staff may be in danger. Instead, it was labeled a “secure” mode where students were kept in their classrooms, out of the halls while police performed the search. Some parents called the school during this time as word of mouth quickly spread through social networking sites that something was going on at the school. Use of the Internet during this time was not supposed to take place.
As a parent of elementary school age children, I applaud the school district for taking a proactive approach to the matter and actually wish it were done more frequently. Why not have random searches on a monthly basis?
What better way is there to deter students from doing things they should not be doing, on school grounds no less, than to have the fear of “Is today the day my locker is going to be searched?”
Some might argue that this goes against a student’s rights. I don’t think that’s the case. A student’s locker is not private property. It’s school property. And as such, the school has every right to search any student’s locker at any given time.
It was the same way 20 years ago when I was in high school. Teachers could and did search students’ lockers and backpacks back then if they suspected something suspicious.
If searches cut back on the amount of drugs in our schools, go for it. There is no excuse for any student to come to a school with drugs, weapons or any other items that can disrupt a day or present a danger to classmates.
And while police are there, why not have them search the staff too while they are it? This statement is not likely to sit well with teachers, but shouldn’t they be held to the same standards as the students they are teaching?
Following the search, police and school officials sat down in a debriefing session to analyze the effort. Some of the suggestions for future such searches were having additional K-9s available, shutting down the wireless network inside the school and checking vehicles in the parking lot.
Those are good places to start. The district could also send out a message to all parents through its automated “Alert Now” system, just to let them know what is going on and that their children are safe.
Let’s not be naïve to think that things that are going on in the larger parts of the state are not happening here as well. If we all educate our children, starting at an early age, on the dangers drugs present, then maybe we can keep incidents to a minimum, instead of ‘the norm.’
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for The Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at 532-2281 or pioneertimes@nepublish.com.