Only a few students in Butler schools tested positive for marijuana in the school district's first trial run with urine testing.

Of 162 students who provided urine samples since the Butler School District enacted an opt-in drug testing policy last summer, six failed a test.

One of the six failed three tests total. Another tested positive, but was deemed a false positive — he was on a doctor prescribed painkiller for an injury. The remaining four tested positive once and haven't again since.

Doug Ford, assistant principal at Butler Senior High School, delivered those statistics in a rundown of the policy's results during Monday night's school board meeting.

This school year, the district required students wanting to play sports, park on campus or participate in a variety of extracurricular activities to opt-in to drug testing. Those opting-in are added to a list of students from which a third-party company selects a random sample for periodic testing. There are 912 students on the list, according to Ford.

So far, eight rounds of testing have been conducted, with about 20 students in each batch. Tests are conducted in even male-to-female splits with about three-quarters of students coming from the SHS, with the remainder being Intermediate High School students.

Other drugs were routinely tested for, including opioids and cocaine. None were detected.

Ford highlighted a couple mishaps so far: One student scooped toilet water into his cup and presented it as his sample. Holding the cup of cool liquid, the tester told the student that he would have to be dead to have produced such cold urine. He was retested and failed.

Another student produced the second-highest concentration of marijuana the testing company had ever encountered.

“We think he was under the influence when he was tested,” Ford said.

The parents of any student who fails a test are called and informed of the results. Ford recounted calling the aforementioned student's mother.

“The mom had no idea,” he said. “Now, she does.”

Turf bid approved

School directors unanimously approved a $460,274 bid from Shaw Sports Turf for a replacement field at Art Bernardi Stadium. Further options for drainage repairs will be reassessed once the field is torn up shortly after graduation.

Superintendent Brian White said maintenance staffers are prepping school buildings for extreme cold forecasted this week.

An audit of district finances had directors wondering whether the district ought to be saving more. The previous fiscal year saw the district reserving an extra 7.6 percent of its general fund expenditures, or $7.9 million. The state recommends reserving 8 percent to 10 percent.

White said he'd present a draft policy setting a reserve minimum in a future meeting, and he said further financial discussions would begin soon.

The district's auditor, Peter Vancheri of Hosack, Specht, Muetzel and Wood, recommended the district prioritize balancing future budgets without dipping into savings.