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APPLICANTS TO BARTOW SCHOOLS COULD BE DRUG TESTED IF POLICY PASSES

Those seeking a job with Bartow County Schools may soon have a test to pass before they are allowed to work in or around the classroom.

School board members next week will consider the first reading of Board Policy GAMA-B, which would require job applicants to submit to pre-employment, post-offer drug tests.

Those tested under the policy would include new applicants and current employees who apply for a vacancy in the district, and would apply to all professional and non-professional, regular full-time and regular part-time positions, including summer school teachers and paid non-teacher coach/adviser positions.  The tests would be administered within 48 hours after an offer of employment is made.

Applicants who fail to receive satisfactory test results would be disqualified from further consideration for their position and would not be allowed to apply for another position covered under the policy for one year.

The proposed policy comes after board member Wanda Cagle Gray proposed the possibility of teacher drug testing during a meeting in April, with board members further discussing the issue at their May work session.

Superintendent John Harper at that May meeting said the district already requires school bus drivers to be tested at random and after bus crashes, regardless of who caused the crash, while other employees can be tested if their supervisors saw warning signs of drug use.

Assistant Superintendent Ben Desper said very few districts in the state perform drug screenings of their applicants.  He added that applicants would be asked to pay the $78 cost of their test, much like they have to pay to be fingerprinted as part of their background checks.