Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jan 2012
Source: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune (WI)
Copyright: 2012 The Daily Tribune
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/4n7hkYIN
Website: http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1609
Author: Jeff Starck
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

TEACHER DRUG TESTING IS RARE

Only three of 14 school districts surveyed in central Wisconsin drug 
test teachers before hiring them and none conducts random or 
scheduled drug tests after employees are hired, according to a 
Gannett Central Wisconsin Media survey.

Of the districts reviewed, the D.C. Everest Area, Medford and Stevens 
Point districts are the only ones that check if prospective teachers, 
administrators and support staff have consumed drugs shortly before 
hire. About 2,325 of the roughly 5,900 people employed by the 14 
school districts -- roughly 39 percent -- passed drug tests before 
they were hired.

Other school districts surveyed were Abbotsford, Antigo, Athens, 
Auburndale, Colby, Marathon, Marshfield, Merrill, Mosinee, Stratford 
and Wausau.

The issue of drug testing drew attention recently after the 
suspension of several Antigo and Merrill school district employees 
who admitted to Langlade County Sheriff's Department investigators 
they sold or consumed marijuana in recent months, according to court 
documents. So far, three people are charged with drug offenses, one 
Antigo elementary school principal is suspended without pay, and four 
Antigo employees and one Merrill teacher are suspended with pay.

Kim Hall, the human resources director for the D.C. Everest Area 
School District, said Everest offers jobs to prospective employees 
contingent on passing drug tests. The district has about 1,100 full- 
and part-time employees.

"A drug screen can tell a lot about a candidate," Hall said. "We want 
good staff."

Antigo doesn't require a pre-hire drug test. Like many school 
districts, Antigo has a policy that allows school officials to ask 
employees who appear to be under the influence of drugs at school to 
take tests. Employees can be fired for failing tests.

"There is certainly not a barrier preventing us from doing pre-hire 
drug tests," said Sarah Zelazoski, coordinator of human resources for 
the Antigo School District. "It is just something we haven't done."

Over-the-counter drug testing kits available at local pharmacies or 
online cost between $20 and $100. The kits typically require urine or 
hair samples and can test for the presence of multiple drugs. Some 
provide results within minutes while other tests require a sample be 
sent to a lab for analysis.

Most school officials surveyed said they do not require pre-hire drug 
testing because their districts never have experienced allegations of 
employees abusing drugs, or because the school board never asked for 
employee drug tests.

Local school boards might be seeking a change in drug testing policy 
given the publicity surrounding the Antigo and Merrill suspensions, 
Mosinee School District Superintendent Jerry Rosso said. Mosinee is 
one of the school districts that does not require a drug test to be 
hired, but Rosso said he would not be surprised if his district's 
school board requests a change in the near future. The board recently 
updated its policy about reporting sexual assaults to children in 
light of a sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University.

"Sometimes what happens in the news affects local policy," Rosso said.

All local schools surveyed receive federal grants and are required by 
federal law to have drug-free workplace policies that inform 
employees that they will face discipline if they possess, use or 
distribute a controlled substance in school.

Merrill Area Public Schools Interim Superintendent Bruce Anderson and 
Stratford Superintendent Scott Winch said their school districts had 
been exploring the possibility of requiring pre-employment drug tests 
before the Langlade County investigation was publicized.

"This is just like what we tell our students, that anything can be a 
teaching moment," Anderson said. "You always want to adjust to be 
better than you were."

- - Reporter Nathan Vine contributed.

[sidebar]

PRE-HIRE DRUG TESTING

The following school districts were asked whether prospective 
employees must pass drug tests to be hired. Their responses:

Yes: D.C. Everest Area, Medford, Stevens Point

No: Abbotsford, Antigo, Athens, Auburndale, Colby, Marathon, 
Marshfield, Merrill, Mosinee, Stratford, Wausau

No response: Edgar, Rosholt, Spencer, Wittenberg-Birnamwood
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom