Original Article Drug dogs ready to start working at high schools Ofelia Madrid The Arizona Republic Aug. 9, 2005 12:00 AM SCOTTSDALE - Everything is on track for drug-sniffing dogs to search Scottsdale high schools once classes begin Aug. 22. The dogs recently made their first practice run through three of the Scottsdale Unified School District's high schools. District officials were on hand at Chaparral and Desert Mountain high schools as Scottsdale police planted drugs in a locker. They watched as the dogs quickly sniffed out the drugs. "Those dogs are darn good," Scottsdale Superintendent John Baracy said. Monday, the dogs roamed Coronado High School. The random searches will happen while students are in class. The dogs will be used primarily to search school lockers. The searches will not disrupt the educational setting, Baracy said. The program will be evaluated after one year. The Scottsdale School Board voted in May to use the dogs for random searches on high school campuses as a response to an investigation by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who said a drug ring was targeting Scottsdale students because of their wealth. A practice run will also be conducted at Saguaro High School before school starts. The district is still talking with Phoenix police about conducting searches at Arcadia High School, which is part of the district but within Phoenix city limits, Baracy said. The dogs are one part of the district's program to deter drug use. District officials also plan to phase in a new drug-prevention curriculum this fall. Scottsdale isn't the first district to use dogs to combat drugs. The neighboring Paradise Valley School District had drug-sniffing dogs on its high school campuses in the late 1990s, but officials stopped the searches after they failed to turn up drugs. Reach the reporter at ofelia .madrid@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6879.