The San Benito High School Board of Trustees discussed the
effectiveness of using trained dogs as a deterrent to contraband at
the high school Wednesday, but didn’t move to make changes to allow
using them in classrooms.
Hollister –The San Benito High School Board of Trustees discussed the effectiveness of using trained dogs as a deterrent to contraband at the high school Wednesday, but didn’t move to make changes to allow using them in classrooms.
The board’s discussion of the canines, which included a presentation from Kontraband Interdiction and Detection Services (K.I.D.S.), drew a mixed reaction from parents, teachers and students spoke who out about the issue.
K.I.D.S., a private company based in Modesto, has provided canine detection services to the district for the last four years. The company’s President and CEO Steven Essler told board members his services would be more effective if the dogs were allowed to search the classrooms because many students carry contraband on their person.
SBHS Parent Ray Rodriguez referred the proposed use of dogs in the classroom as “Gestapo” tactics and suggested the district employ other less-costly means to keep drugs out of school, such as expanded student mentor programs and increased parent involvement and communication. If the board decides to allow the dogs in the classroom, which current policy prohibits, Rodriguez suggested the dogs also be allowed to sniff around the cars and offices of staff members and teachers.
Two students told board members that having the dogs on campus would make them feel more secure, but others objected saying the searches were not warranted.
Senior Stefany James, who serves as the students’ liaison to the board, was critical of the use of dogs as a deterrent. She reminded the board that administrative policy forbids students from bringing cell phones and flags to school and said that having groups of trained dogs searching the campus would create a considerable upset in normal school routine.
“In my view, if you bring dogs on campus and in the classroom not only does that interfere with class time, but it also causes a much greater disruption than other prohibited items,” she said. “It creates more problems than it solves.”
Superintendent Jean Burns Slater added the policy to the agenda in order to give board members Jan Joseph and Bill Tiffany, who were elected after the district’s dog policy was enacted several years ago, an opportunity to ask questions about the policy and the legal issues surrounding searches.
“The students’ environment is a factor in these searches,” Joseph said, referring to privacy concerns for students who are exposed to drugs at home by parents or family members. Dogs may detect the odor of drugs on such students, who may later be subject to unnecessary searches, he said.
Essler said the company’s employees do not have the power to arrest students and can turn such matters over to administrators, who can use their own discretion.
Tiffany and Joseph also asked what protections students have from having drugs or other items placed in their backpacks, without their awareness, by other students.
Essler said that closely watching the student leave their belongings behind and watching them outside the classroom for five to eight minutes while the dogs search the rooms, would prevent drug-carrying students from depositing their merchandise in the belongings of others.
Although K.I.D.S. services vary depending on the needs of the district, Essler recommends about 24 half-day visits for every 1,000 students a district has enrolled. Each visit costs about $170 per half-day. Last year, the San Benito High School paid for six such visits, but the dogs never detected the odor of drugs. During that year, 33 students were suspended for possession or use of marijuana and six were suspended for possession of a weapon or an explosive, according to statistics released by the school district in September.
Gilroy High School, which serves about 2,500 students, does not use drug-sniffing dogs, but Superintendent Edwin Diaz said he would consider such methods if the school had a significant drug problem.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
