Contrary to some misguided commentators, Gov. Linda Lingle's attempt to saddle our public school teachers with random drug testing is an overtly cynical strategy, designed to win political points by embarrassing the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Board of Education and at the expense of hardworking educators' fundamental rights.

Such testing would do nothing to make our students any safer, but would most certainly deprive them of further critical services and supplies and leave taxpayers footing the bill.

Remarkably, Gov. Lingle appears to have relished placing our dedicated teachers and, particularly, their union between a rock and a hard place. It is no secret that, like many of us, teachers struggle with Hawai'i's cost of living — about 30 percent more than the Mainland. While the raises offered to entice our teachers toward random drug testing were not too substantial — 4 percent per year for two years — many teachers simply could not afford to turn them down. This placed the HSTA in the untenable position of having to accept random drug testing in violation of teachers' constitutional rights or give up sorely needed raises.

The teachers, in weighing whether to ratify the contract, confronted the same nasty dilemma. Their response, however, has been mischaracterized in the public debate. Of the 13,404 educators eligible to vote, only 8,449 cast ballots. While a majority of voting members (5,176) ratified the proposed contract, these "yes" votes constitute a minority — 43 percent — of eligible votes. In no way did the majority of HSTA members consent to relinquish their rights and accept random drug testing: 57 percent either voted against the contract or did not vote at all.

The governor's draconian attempt to deprive teachers of their basic rights through random drug testing might be justified if it would increase student safety or, perhaps, if it did not violate both the U.S. and Hawai'i constitutions. However, it fails on both accounts. There is simply no reason to think that Hawai'i's teachers ever have or would imperil students through drug involvement. When HSTA asked the BOE to "describe any incidents, occurrences, or reports substantiating suspicions held by the BOE of illegal use by teachers of illicit drugs or alcohol at the workplace from January 1, 2000, to the present," the board answered that there were none.

Hawai'i's teachers are highly dedicated to the advancement and well-being of their students and among the least likely to be involved with drugs. Our teachers are under near constant observation from both students and their fellow educators and administrators. Thus, any association with drugs would be readily observed and addressed. The teachers and their union have no objection whatsoever to a policy of drug testing based on reasonable suspicion, which is constitutional.

Hawai'i courts have held that the Hawai'i and U.S. constitutions may permit random drug testing of police officers and firefighters where drug abuse clearly threatens both their fellow employees and public safety. Other danger-fraught situations where such testing may be upheld include airline pilots and nuclear power plant operators. No court has ever approved a policy of random drug testing for all teachers and, in fact, no other state in the nation has ever even attempted such a rash step.

The HSTA is rightly seeking a declaration from the Board of Education that random drug testing of our public school teachers is not required. The ACLU stands ready to bring a lawsuit against the state should random teacher testing ever move forward. While the ACLU should easily prevail in this lawsuit, it is also likely that the case will, nonetheless, consume significant state resources at a time of increasingly strained budgets.

Though the governor's random-drug-testing ploy may inevitably be shot down in the courtroom, it should just as clearly be rejected because of its impact in the classroom. Imposing costly requirements for random drug testing on a school system struggling to fund infrastructure and essential programs is ludicrous. Gov. Lingle's cynicism is evident by her unwillingness to fund this pet project. All of us, and especially our governor, should put the best interests of Hawai'i's students first.

Richard S. Miller, is professor of law emeritus and former dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law. The views expressed here are his personal opinions and not necessarily those of the School of Law or the University of Hawai'i. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.