DRUG ISSUES ARE A WORRY IN BELLEVILLE

BELLEVILLE - Drugs and discipline are major issues at Belleville High
School, according to parents, who say that there is too little of the
latter and far too much of the former in their children's education.

"My bigger concern is the drug and alcohol issue," said Jayne
Campbell, mother of two children raised in the school district. "It's
most upsetting to me that Superintendent Randy Freese put out an
article stating that our kids are smart and make wise choices, so they
don't do these things. You know which kids are the drug users because
you find out from the other kids."

The Belleville administration began requesting routine drug sweeps by
the Dane County Sheriff's Department canine unit last spring. The two
sweeps conducted so far, the first of which was prefaced by a letter
to parents, failed to turn up any evidence of drugs on the school
campus. While reassured by the clean report, no one believes that the
district is completely in the clear.

"I'd be lying if I said that there's no drug issue whatsoever,"
Belleville High School Principal Rick Conroy said. "No school has no
problem, but the kids know we're serious about it and don't want drugs
here. I think the drug culture has waned, but it's still present."

Chatting with students suggests there are still plenty of substance
abusers in the school and the kids know who is toking up. Sophomore
Paige Laflash said that she has seen evidence of drug use among the
high school population, but doesn't think Belleville is worse than the
average small town.

"I think a lot of people use drugs here," she said. "A lot of the
younger kids, like freshmen, use drugs more and more these days. I
have friends in other towns and some schools are bad."

Rumors but little substantive evidence frustrates Belleville Police
Chief Roger Hillebrand, who said that his department follows up on any
information they receive about drug trafficking. Hillebrand is also a
member of the Belleville School Board.

"I believe we have availability of drugs because we're near the city
of Madison," he said. "Are there some kids using and drinking? Yes. Is
it a substantial problem? Not that has been proven to us."

The Belleville Police Department reports charging five adults and four
juveniles with drug possession in 2005. Drunken driving citations have
more than doubled, from nine in 2004 to 20 in 2005. Of those charged
for underage drinking, two were minors under the age of 18 and four
were adults under the legal drinking age of 21.

Lack of discipline in the classrooms and on buses also concerns
parents. Of several active and retired teachers contacted, none were
willing to discuss the topic of school discipline, but graduating
seniors in an exit survey last spring cited discipline and drug use as
among their top concerns.

According to figures published in the July 20, 2005 edition of the
Belleville Recorder, 49 percent of the graduating seniors who
participated in the face-to-face interviews believed that Belleville
High School students have alcohol or drug problems and 71 percent said
that students are not well behaved in class.

Parents have suggested off the record that the lack of discipline in
the classroom contributes to high levels of D's and F's. Although
there have been some improvements in grades in the last couple of
years, over a third of freshmen (36 percent) and almost two-thirds of
sophomores (65 percent) brought home at least one grade below C during
the first term this fall.

Jackie Watkins, mother of two children in the Belleville School
District, said she is happy with the education her children have
received in Belleville but is concerned about safety on the school
buses.

"We are on the route for Bus 25, the worst bus in the district, and
there's hitting, spitting and fighting," she said. "We've had a
student bring a knife on the bus, someone setting fire to a seat and a
window got broken. One mother said that kind of stuff went on when we
were in school, but it's worse now."

Problems on the buses excepted, Belleville students generally report
feeling safe on campus but junior Cory Werner identified a social
issue that does concern him.

"I think there's a rising racial issue in the school," he said. "The
small town kids aren't used to schools with integration, for lack of a
better word."

Superintendent Freese cites the recent meetings between parents and
school staff as evidence the school is responsive to the concerns of
students and parents. The next scheduled meeting is at 7 p.m. on
Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the high school auditorium.

"If I had concerns about aggressive, antisocial behavior or academics,
then I wouldn't have moved my daughter here - I put my money where my
mouth is," Freese said. The Freese family relocated to Belleville from
McFarland three years ago after their eldest child graduated from
school there.

"My kids are college-bound and I'm not going to risk my kids' future,"
he said. "I take pride in the fact we are Belleville."