LAS VEGAS -- The school board voted Thursday night to apply for a grant that would cover the cost of drug testing and to expand drug testing to eight high schools.

That means student athletes and students in other activities like band, cheerleading and choir will be subject to random drug tests.

There was little debate over whether to apply for a federal grant for random drug testing.

The school board voted unanimously to apply for grant money -- nearly a half a million dollars to pay for drug tests. But there is one stipulation -- that no money is taken out of the general fund at any point.

“Because of the recent budget cuts, I want to make sure we're not using money, our operating (money), to do this,” said Clark County School District Board Trustee Sheila Moulton.

It's a three-year pilot program. The goal is to reduce drug and alcohol abuse among student athletes.

But some critics said the district should be focused on getting more money to hire more teachers and reduce class sizes.

“We’re already doing that. We’re applying for grants for classroom support, teacher support, you name it. The Clark County School District is very aggressive in applying for those grants. This is just one more aspect of grant writing process we participate in,” said CCSD Northwest Regent Superintendent Richard Carranza.

“I've tested twice,” said Asli Kupoglu.

Kupoglu is a Green Valley High School student, which was the first high school in the district to try out the drug testing.

“Hopefully, they'll learn that drugs and alcohol are not a good idea, especially not in high school … If they do get tested positive, learn a lesson and don’t do it again,” Kupoglu said.

If the district gets approved for the money, the drug testing would start in January 2008.

The school board is hoping that parents will take an active role in the effort by helping with fundraisers or donations.

If the money comes through for the testing, the high schools that would begin drug testing are Centennial, Mojave, Eldorado, Desert Pines, Del Sol, Durango and Foothill.