AGREEMENT LIMITS DRUG TESTS FOR TEACHERS

NEWPORT - The Newport Independent School District will have to wait
until 2010 if it wants to consider drug testing any of its teachers
because of a collective bargaining agreement passed in June that does
not call for the tests.

"It is against our contract to drug test teachers," Newport High
School teacher Carol Dunn said.

Dunn serves as co-president of the Newport Teacher's Association, the
union that put together the collective bargaining agreement.

She said because the four year contract was just approved in June,
the board will have to wait until June 2010 to ask for changes and
additions to the next contract.

"We spent a lot of time working on the contract, about four months,
so when the contract time is up the question of drug testing for
teachers can be discussed," Dunn said.

Drug tests became an issue after the recent arrests of Newport School
Board member Jim Hesch and his wife, Newport Middle School English
teacher Helen Hesch, on charges of third degree unlawful transaction
with a minor.

Newport High School math teacher Brandon Hall was arrested and
charged with second and third degree unlawful transaction with a
minor.The Hesches were arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 8, after Newport
police caught Hall on video rolling a marijuana cigarette with
several juveniles on the Hesches' front porch.

Hall told police after his arrest on Friday, Nov. 3, that the Hesches
knew juveniles were drinking on their property and that they had
given their underage son permission to consume alcohol.

The couple pleaded not guilty in Campbell County District Court, on
Thursday, Nov. 9.

At a Newport School Board meeting Wednesday, Nov. 15, the school
board unanimously passed a recommendation made by Newport
Superintendent Michael Brandt to form a task force that would look
into the possibility of drug testing any student wanting to
participate in extracurricular activities, as well as teachers who
are new hires.

Brandt said the task force would be formed immediately. If the group
decided to go ahead with drug tests for students it would begin at
the start of next school year.

Brandt said the task force would not be looking into drug testing
teachers who are already employed, but may look into drug testing
applicants for employment.

"The task force is charged with looking into student drug testing,
the task force won't talk about teacher drug testing, though we may
have to get into that at some point," Brandt said.

"The reality is that the teachers have a collective bargaining
agreement and we would have to go through a legal process to change
that before it expires," he said. "The task force can look into drug
testing new hires before they become members of the union, that's
much more doable. We can't force people to put something in or take
something out of a contract."

Dunn said the union would not change the contract until it expires.

Newport Schools attorney Brandon Voelker said he's not aware of any
district that drug tests its teachers.

"I don't know of teachers anywhere that are drug tested," Voelker
said. "This is an added wrinkle in the system because of the
collective bargaining agreement, so we are going to have to look into
that and work through it."

Brandt said that until the task force comes back with a
recommendation and a policy change for next school year, he will have
students wanting to participate in winter activities sign a good
behavior consent form.

"I want both parents and students to commit to good behavior 24 hours
a day, seven days a week," Brandt said. "If a coach, director or
group leader finds out otherwise, appropriate action will be taken."