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Highlands Today

School district drug testing screens out employees

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By MARC VALERO Highlands Today

Published: November 30, 2009

SEBRING - Since starting its drug testing policy about 15 years ago, the Highlands County School District has turned away some applicants and terminated a few employees who have tested positive for drug use.

District Director of Human Resources Vivianne Waldron said employee drug screenings started in the early to mid 1990s.

"Each year when we start hiring new employees, through the drug testing process, we have two, three at the most, who are not able to be hired due to positive drug tests," she said. "We shut it down right then; they never step foot in the classroom."

Manatee Superintendent of Schools Tim McGonegal said in October that when his former school district (Highlands County) announced it was going to drug-test new employees, the number of applicants fell by about 25 percent, according to a Herald-Tribune report.

The policy kept drug users from applying and getting jobs as teachers and other school employees, he said.

McGonegal's comments were made as the Manatee School Board approved a new policy to drug test applicants prior to hire. But the policy differs from the Highlands policy because it does not apply to existing teachers.

In the Highlands County School District, all new employees are drug tested and employees who have had a break in service and who are returning to work in the school district are also required to have a drug test.

Also, all substitute teachers and all volunteers (including coaches) who are in direct contact with students, without being supervised, are tested for drugs.

Existing employees are required to have a drug test when they renew their teaching certification, which is every five years.

According to the School Board of Highlands County's Drug Free Workplace Policy, administrators are directed to notify human resources when they have a reasonable suspicion that a teacher or staff member is using drugs or alcohol.

"If I find evidence of drug use then we require them to go to the drug lab and have a drug test done," Waldron said. "Some of those come back positive and some of those come back negative."

On their first occurrence of testing positive, employees have the option of going through the employee assistance program where they would be off from work to attend a drug rehabilitation program.

Some choose to do that and others don't, Waldron noted.

"In the past three years, I think we dismissed three people for reasonable suspicion," she said. "It's not a regular occurrence, but it does happen from time-to-time."

The testing is by urinalysis for drug use or a blow test for blood-alcohol level, Waldron said.

The district pays for the drug screening tests, which costs $32 for each employee. The cost is higher for bus drivers, because they require a dual sample, which are retained for a longer period of time.

Also, the more extensive "reasonable suspicion" tests have a higher cost - about $150, Waldron said.

Highlands Today reporter Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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