Where is the proof?

Dear Editor:

While I am as much against drugs as the next parent, I find it disconcerting that Panther Valley School District is still looking to enforce a mandatory random drug screening policy, spending thousands of dollars, yet they cannot afford books for every student in 6th grade (I am not sure about other grades).

I understand that there is still an ACLU action being taken against the school district, so I ask, how much more money is this going to cost the taxpayers?

"According to the court papers, the ACLU claims the policies violate a Supreme Court precedent and violate constitutional privacy protections. The precedent was set in 2003 when the PA Supreme Court declared the Delaware Valley's drug testing policy unconstitutional (Theodore v. Delaware Valley School District) unless the school could show evidence that the group of students undergoing testing had a high rate of drug use, according to a written statement released by the ACLU."

Where is the proof that Panther Valley has a high rate of drug use? The paperwork sent home also states to "check the correct box" if the parent wants to be present, yet there is no box to check! Whatever happened to being innocent until proven guilty? In my opinion this violates our children's 4th Amendment rights as it is warrant-less.

Charles C Ahrens

Summit Hill