To the editor:

Thank goodness we have Randy Weseman for our superintendent of the Lawrence public schools. He has been a common sense, get-it-done leader. His decision to have Breathalyzer tests at school dances has relieved a lot of parents.

I was so discouraged when my sophomore daughter attended the first Free State dance and came home indicating that most of the kids there were “trashed.” She found it all extremely amusing. When many of the parents discussed our concerns with school officials, they appropriately pointed out that parents need to know where their children are and what they are doing before the dance, as they show up drunk and are not served alcohol at the school. This is a very good point, but teenagers are very sneaky. We need to be partners in this process; both of us have a responsibility and we need to work together.

As a parent, I have learned that alcohol and drugs are very accessible to children in Lawrence, at least at school functions. We need to do what we can to provide a safe environment and monitor what’s going on. I guess there must be parents who buy alcohol for underage children, but I don’t know any. Most of us are just trying to raise them the best we can and get them through these turbulent years.

Rose Peirce,

Lawrence