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DRUG TESTING RAISES ISSUES

The arrest of David Anderson, principal of Pratt Elementary, has stirred controversy among parents, educators and members of the Kanawha County Board of Education. 

Although Anderson was not convicted, administrators have begun to question whether such instances could be prevented with the use of drug testing. 

"I believe there are a lot of issues concerned with drug testing," Dr.  Ronald Duerring, Kanawha County superintendent, said.  "Certainly we are working through those issues now."

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled in the Twiggs v.  Hercules Corporation case in 1990 that drug tests cannot be administered unless the employee is in a safety sensitive position or unless there is reasonable cause to believe the employee has been using drugs. 

Safety sensitive positions include school bus drivers and driver's education teachers, according to the Kanawha County Board of Education Policy. 

There was also a decision in 2003 concerning Wal-Mart, that stated pre-employment drug testing could only happen in private business, Duerring said. 

"The term everyone cannot be included in a policy," said Duerring. 

Despite the concerns of invasion of privacy, many educators, such as Joshua D.  Pauley, a fifth grade teacher at Bridgeview Elementary in Kanawha County, believe that the drug testing proposal is a good idea and that such testing is in the best interest of the children. 

"If you have nothing to hide, why would you mind?" Pauley said. 

Vanessa Rodgers, junior psychology major, agreed.  Teachers are supposed to be responsible because they're authority figures, Rodgers said. 

The board sees very few cases in which teachers or principals are charged with drug offenses, Duerring said. 

"Those are the people who need to get busted and not be allowed to have children, young or old, in their care," Pauley said. 

If such a proposal is passed, the funding would have to come from the general budget, Duerring said.