Testing should deter teachers’ drug dealing

THE ISSUE A Kailua public school teacher faces a prison term for her activities dealing in cocaine and Ecstasy.

THE tragic downfall of a bright and talented Kailua school teacher caught up in the sordid world of illegal drugs confirms the wisdom of random drug testing of public school teachers. Testing authority was enacted by this year's Legislature, following recent arrests of Bronwyn Marie Kugle and three other teachers on drug charges.

Kugle, 38, resigned from her job as resource teacher at Kaelepulu Elementary School days after her arrest in February on drug charges. She was accused of paying more than $40,000 to buy two pounds of cocaine and nearly 1,000 Ecstasy tablets by mail from the mainland for local sales, having refinanced her Kailua home to pay for the purchase.

Her own use of crystal methamphetamine and cocaine put her on a wayward path to a possible prison sentence of five years or more and loss of her house. Kugle, who has two sons and a daughter, called her arrest "a blessing in disguise," saying she has been drug-free since then.

Lee Anzai used similar language to describe his arrest on drug charges for selling drugs to an undercover police officer last year from a classroom where he taught special-education students at Leilehua High School. Anzai, a longtime drug addict, was sentenced in federal court this month to a four-year prison term.

One can only conjecture whether random drug testing would have prompted Kugle or Anzai to halt their illegal activities or seek help within the Department of Education. What is known is that teachers have been able to engage in illegal drug use and dealing without being detected and exposed by colleagues.