Lawrence’s school board heard the official word Monday night that a policy designed to curb alcohol at local high school dances was working.

But forcing students to be “breathalyzed” before a dance might be coming with a price.

Some students contacted earlier in the day at Free State and Lawrence high schools said only a fraction of students were showing up at most of the dances – some events even have been canceled.

And while dances might be free of alcohol, the students said many of their peers were going elsewhere to drink.

The board heard a report from officials at LHS and Free State about the policy, which was implemented about a year ago. The policy arose from reports that some students were intoxicated during Free State’s Firestarter Dance in late August 2005.

Under the policy, students are required to blow on a hand-held monitor that detects the presence of alcohol. Those who test positive will be given a breath-alcohol test to measure the level of alcohol.

The first test takes 10 seconds. The second test takes 20 to 30 seconds.

Those who have been drinking are banned from school-sponsored dances for a calendar year. Also, they may be suspended or expelled.

“When this was implemented, there was a fear that this would adversely affect the attendance at our dances,” said Matt Brungardt, associate principal at LHS.

Brungardt said only about 100 students attended the first dance where students were tested. However, he said the last dance at LHS, the Winter Formal, was a success with 550 attending.

No positive tests

Since the policy went into effect, no one has been caught at the school testing positive for alcohol, he said.

“Students are just putting up with it,” said Joe Miller, LHS student council president.

Lisa Boyd, Free State’s assistant principal, said when the policy was put in place last year, the annual senior prom went on “without a hitch.”

Boyd said Free State had not had any students test positive for alcohol at any dances. However, two nonstudents who tested positive at one of the dances walked away after failing the first test, she said.

Clare Robinson, a senior class representative on Free State’s student council, said at first fewer students were going to dances.

“There was an initial decline,” Robinson said. “But the numbers have started to crawl back to what they were.”

However, students who weren’t part of Monday night’s presentation to the board seemed more skeptical about the policy and its effects.

Sue Schwartz, a junior at LHS who is vice president of student council, said she personally favors the policy. But it has affected attendance at the nonformal dances, she said.

“We’re just kind of losing that tradition of having school dances, which is unfortunate,” Schwartz said.

Some of the nonformal dances have been cut, such as the Women Pay All and the Spring Fling, Schwartz said.

“We’re cutting our Valentine’s Day dance coming up, because of numbers,” she said.

At this year’s Homecoming dance, only about 100 people attended, compared with about 500 who attended the year before, Schwartz said.

She said there probably were several reasons for attendance being down.

“I don’t think it was because every student was getting intoxicated before the dances,” she said. “When no one else goes, it’s not as fun.”

Matters of trust

LHS junior Allison Womak said she thought the breath tests were a good idea.

“It prevents people from doing stupid things,” Womak said. “But at the same time, I think the administration and the school should trust students enough to make the decision not to come to dances intoxicated.”

Another LHS junior, Niki Miller, said the tests keep students who have been drinking alcohol away.

“But at the same time, a lot of other kids will do other drugs and get in and get away with it, which can be more dangerous than drinking would be,” Miller said. “It has some cause and effects.”

Students who don’t go to dances usually go out to a party or stay at home, Miller said.

“Or if you can’t drink at dances, a lot of times kids will just go somewhere else to drink,” Miller said. “So it doesn’t really prevent much.”

Over at Free State, students had similar opinions.

“(Alcohol tests) don’t bother me,” said John Bergman, a Free State junior. “But I’ve heard lots of things at school. Like, everybody’s complaining about them.

“When they do the breathalyzers here, people just go other places and do the same things they would. They just don’t come to school.”

Alex Tuckwin, a junior, said the breath tests “definitely lowered the attendance rate of the students to the dances.”