CAMPUSES MAY GO TO THE DOGS; DRUG SNIFFERS CONSIDERED.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

The amount of drug use at Santa Clarita Valley schools is open to interpretation, depending on whether one asks parents who want to remain nameless or school officials mulling the best way to combat it.

In the next few months, both groups will be faced with a decision about how to protect youths at the William S. Hart Union High School District's campuses without trampling on students' civil rights.

On Thursday at La Mesa Junior High, a few dozen principals, administrators and parents attended a demonstration at which Mikie, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever, showed how he can find hidden drugs, alcohol and weapons.

District officials are considering whether to hire a company that supplies canines trained to sniff out contraband that students may be hiding in their lockers and backpacks.

The move would first have to be approved by the Hart district school board, and the issue will be debated at public hearings and board meetings before any such decision is made, said Mike von Buelow, assistant superintendent of student services for the Hart district.

If the school board decides in favor of the idea, the drug-sniffing dogs could be on campuses in Newhall, Canyon Country, Saugus and Valencia by autumn.

``There is a problem with drugs in this community,'' von Buelow said. ``Although the number might not be alarming in some areas, it's alarming to us.''

There are more than 14,000 students in the Hart district, which serves grades seven through 12.

Steve Essler said the dogs and handlers affiliated with his Modesto-based business, Kontraband Interdiction & Detection Services, work in several California public school districts. The visits are unannounced, a surprise to school staffers and students alike, and the specially trained dogs follow their noses around classrooms, gymnasiums and locker rooms trying to detect any illicit substances.

The fate of the offenders is entirely up to the discretion of the individual school districts and local law enforcement, Essler noted during the La Mesa demonstration.

Typically, the penalty for possession of drugs, alcohol or weapons is expulsion, said Mike Allmandinger, administrator of student services for the Hart district. In recent years, the number of expulsions has risen, he said.

During the 1995-96 school year, 68 Hart district students faced hearings to determine whether they should be kicked out of school. Allmandinger said 44 of those youths were expelled.

The Hart district has two types of expulsion. A probationary variety transfers the student to another district campus, where he or she must maintain good behavior to remain in school, Allmandinger said.

In the more severe option, students are prohibited from attending any district schools. Instead, they can take classes through a county-sponsored independent study program in which teachers come to Hart district headquarters one hour a week to tutor and assign them 30 hours of homework per week, Allmandinger said.

During the 1996-97 school year, 87 students were recommended for expulsion. Once the hearings were held, 58 youths were expelled - 22 of them for weapons offenses and 36 for drug-related offenses, Allmandinger said.

The jump from one year to the next could be the result of the district's ``zero tolerance'' policy toward contraband on campus. In the past, Allmandinger said, first offenders were granted a second chance, but now principals must report a student to the expulsion panel each time the youth runs afoul of the law.

Deputy Scott Miller, assigned to a gang and juvenile crime unit at the sheriff's Santa Clarita Valley station, said it's a shame the school district must consider taking such steps to root out and quash teen drug and alcohol abuse.

``Having drug-sniffing dogs on campus is good in one aspect, but it's also sad to have to admit that you think the problem is that big in the Santa Clarita Valley,'' Miller said.

``Marijuana is probably the most common drug. The next would be methamphetamines, and that's because of the low cost and the availability. LSD is also making a comeback.''

The conditions under which methamphetamine is produced enhance the danger posed to youths who use it frequently or experimentally.

``It's made in sheds out in the middle of the desert, with dirty cooking instruments and a bunch of chemicals,'' Miller said. ``It's not monitored by anybody, so (users) don't know what they're getting.''

In recent months, Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's deputies have arrested a few Hart district students for possessing an anesthetic and hallucinogen called ketamine, known on the streets as Special K.

``It's a cat tranquilizer, and the kids are buying it (from) people who are stealing it from pet hospitals. It's popular at rave parties,'' the deputy noted, referring to the marathon, underground dances popular with some teens. ``But it's also starting to move into the mainstream now, of experimental users and weekend drug users.''

Miller said youths snort ketamine in its dried, powdered form or smoke cigarettes that have been dipped in the drug's liquid version.

``It's a central nervous system depressant . . . that's in the same family as PCP,'' he said. ``It can make people violent, it can make them calm, and it can cause extreme mood swings. It's also very easy to overdose on it and die.''

Kessler said his company's dogs are trained to sniff out contraband in its finished form rather than its individual ingredients. In other words, a dog won't ``alert'' on a bottle of aspirin or any other over-the-counter medication that might have some of the same components that are found in illegal drugs, thereby eliminating the chances of unwarranted searches, he said.

Whether or not the animals are to find many drugs on campus, the fear of being caught might help scare students into sobriety.

``I think that the drug-sniffing dogs would be a great incentive for kids not to have drugs on campus,'' Allmandinger said. Students feeling peer pressure to dabble with drugs or alcohol would have the perfect excuse - fear of detection - to turn it down, he said.

Miller said weak punishments in the juvenile court system and lax adult supervision are partly to blame for the teen drug use at Santa Clarita Valley schools.

``If the students have a drug problem at school, then they have a drug problem at home,'' he said. ``Too many parents in the Santa Clarita Valley rely on the schools and the Sheriff's Department to raise their kids.''

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1--2) Mikie, left, a 5-year-old Labrador retriever, displays his skill in sniffing out drugs, alcohol and weapons for an audience of principals, administrators and parents during a demonstration at La Mesa Junior High School in Santa Clarita. Below, Steve Essler, president of Modesto-based Kontraband Interdiction & Detection Services, tells attendees what Mikie can do before putting the dog through his paces.

(3) Mikie enjoys a tasty treat after the demonstration for Hart school district officials considering hiring his master's company.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News