Public comments at Tuesday’s Tamaqua Area School Board meeting expressed concerns with the district’s student drug testing policy.

“As an individual, I support the drug testing program, I think it’s a great tool to help monitor their children’s’ activities and bring awareness to an issue before it becomes a problem,” said Thomas Williams, a Tamaqua district parent.

“But I also support the freedom of individual choice. We teach our kids to think for themselves and not to let peer pressure, and pressure from others, affect their decisions.

His daughter, Brooke, is a one of Tamaqua’s top academic students, who participates in numerous extracurricular activities - which are set to begin shortly.

Per Tamaqua’s policy, any student who participates in an extracurricular activity, or drives to school, is subject to a random urine sampling throughout the year. In theory, it’s possible that a student never gets tested - and that a student, by chance, could get tested multiple times per year.

Superintendent Ray Kinder said both driving to school and the extracurriculars are seen as privileges within the school system.

“If we could test everybody, we would. The law does not allow us to be able to test everyone else, so we don’t,” Kinder said.

“We realize there is more out there than just the people we are (testing). … This is meant to be a deterrent, and I think part of it is maybe this is overall the way the committee has looked at this over the years, if you know it’s a possibility - and these activities are extremely important to a lot of students - you’re talking about how hard they work in them. If they are willing to jeopardize that, to be able to use that drug or alcohol or whatever it is, they might be in a little deeper then we certainly want, and they need an intervention at that point, and that’s what this could be able to provide - an intervention so it doesn’t get to that next level.”

Brooke also addressed the school board.

“I don’t plan on signing the drug testing form. I just morally don’t agree with it,” I don’t feel like there is any right - you don’t have any right to my body. You don’t get to tell me I have to go to the bathroom, pull down my pants, pee into a cup and give it to you, just because you ask for it. … I don’t feel that you have any power over me.”

Hypothetically, changing or putting a provision in any policy can’t happen overnight.

“But we can talk about it at a committee meeting in terms of a parental opt out,” said Larry Wittig, board president. “I think it probably warrants a conversation.”

And fall sports are already in progress.

“It’s a random test,” said Nicholas Boyle, vice president.

“Even if she signs the papers, there is no guarantee she will get picked to have a test. So I would sign the paper, participate in the sport and if this thing takes a month, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I wouldn’t go and not participate in the sport in the one out of 100 chance you might get picked.”