BRINGING DRUG USE TO HEEL; BACKING OF SCHOOL CANINE PLAN MAY HELP CURB WOES.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Drug-sniffing dogs could be let loose as early as next fall at Santa Clarita Valley high schools under a plan to curb drug use among students, Hart High School District officials said Wednesday.

Hart's District Advisory Board, composed of parents, teachers and administrators, endorsed the concept during a meeting Tuesday night, and school officials have been in contact with canine training companies, said Mike von Buelow, assistant superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District.

``Are drugs a problem on our campuses? I would be naive to say `no,' '' said Valencia High School Principal Paul Priesz.

Priesz said he would support bringing the dogs on campus if it proved to be a deterrent.

``Drugs are frequently around,'' he said. ``So while there is probably no sure-fire way of keeping contraband off campus, I am in favor of anything that will act to get kids to not only stop bringing it on campus, but using drugs, too.''

Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Randy Dickey said he is aware of the discussions by the school board, but doesn't think drugs are a major problem in Santa Clarita schools.

``As far as I know, there have been problems with marijuana but not with any other types of drugs,'' Dickey said.

School officials said that drugs have been found on area campuses and a treatment program has been established to assist students who have been found to have drugs on themselves or in lockers as well as those who appear to be under the influence.

``We intervene and the student is immediately suspended for five days and sent to the program for a week at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital,'' von Buelow said. After students complete the program a hearing is convened to determine further action including expulsion from school, von Buelow said.

Officials said they hope the canines help convince students that teachers and administrators are aware drugs are present on area campuses.

Von Buelow said if the idea of bringing dogs to the campuses is accepted, each school in the district will hold special assemblies for demonstration purposes and also any parent concerns would be addressed before hand.

``Right now we are still gathering information with both the Sheriff's Department and two private companies, and it is possible the dogs could be in our schools by the start of the fall semester,'' von Buelow said.

Michael Ferdinand, co-owner of Interquest - one of two canine-training firms contacted by the district - said his company has provided hounds to schools in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

``(Drugs) are an ongoing problem that schools are wrestling with,'' Ferdinand said from the company's Houston headquarters.

``They are constantly trying to come up with ideas on how to minimize the problem,'' he said.

Von Buelow said Interquest and KIDS, a Modesto-based company, have been contacted about supplying dogs to locate alcohol, drugs and weapons. It costs about $2 per student per year to provide law enforcement dogs, Ferdinand said that.

``We provide them with a canine and a handler and the board will tell us when to come and where to search,'' Ferdinand said.