A former Cherokee County Spanish teacher has brought suit against the Graham County school system to prevent it from implementing random drug testing of all school employees. The North Carolina Association of Educators filed the lawsuit on behalf of Susan Jones, who now teaches at Robbinsville High School. Jones previously taught Spanish at Hiwassee Dam High School in Cherokee County. The suit states that the drug testing policy violates state constitutional principles against discrimination and searches without evidence. Graham County Superintendent of Schools Rick Davis said the purpose of the policy, which will take effect July 1, is to ensure a drug free and and safe work environment. He said he believes that Graham County would be the first school system in North Carolina to randomly drug test all school employees. [continues 483 words]
After having an educational career at Caldwell Community College for 16 years and been named vice president of human resources in the medical field, it's not unusual that Dr. John Crosby turned towards fighting drug use in Cherokee County. As the new director of the Cherokee County Drug Coalition, he plans to combat illegal substance abuse on all county levels. "We can break the cycle of drug use with kids and adults," said Crosby. Beginning with a county wide school survey, Crosby plans to use this method as a means of collecting data on substance use from parents, teachers and students. [continues 142 words]
