DRUG TESTING, AUDIT ON SCHOOL AGENDA

Churchill County School District's superintendent is advising the
board of trustees to hold off approving a drug and alcohol testing
policy for school district employees amid controversy over the draft document.

Trustees will consider the proposed policy at their 7 p.m. meeting
tonight at Numa Elementary School.

A memo to the board from Superintendent Carolyn Ross suggests
trustees should not approve the policy now but allow further review
and discussions. She plans to put the item back on the board's
agenda for its Jan. 25 meeting.

School employee associations objected to part of the policy that
would mandate drug or alcohol testing whenever an employee filed a
worker's compensation claim. That section has been removed from the
draft policy, while other provisions have been added since the
board heard a first reading of the document last month.

"There have been a number of changes," said Finance Director Jim
Sustacha. "At the last meeting, people were upset with the policy. I
don't know what other changes might be made before it goes to the board."

Sustacha said the policy is no longer being handled by his
department, but has been turned over to the human resource department.

Other changes to the policy include drug testing during a
pre-employment screening, during an employee's probationary period
and for vendor contract compliance. The limit for property damage in
an accident that would require drug testing has been lowered from
$1,000 to $500.

Also on the board agenda is the result of the district's audit for
the fiscal year ending June 30.

Auditors from Kafoury, Armstong & Co. are making 11 recommendations
to cure problems found during the audit.

The firm also included last year's recommendations on 20
irregularities and the status those suggestions.

"Since the district was unable to hire an accountant until April 27,
2006, there was a lack of adequate supervision of the financial
reporting process for most of the fiscal year," a report from the
accounting company states. ... "We are pleased to report, however,
that we believe the district has taken the appropriate actions to
strengthen the district's finance department."

Sean Richardson, who is a certified public accountant with
governmental accounting experience, started work May 8, just one
month before the fiscal year ended.

This will be the final school board meeting for trustees who did not
seek re-election or were defeated in the November election.

School board meetings are open to the public.