COUNTY BACKS SCHOOL BOARD DRUG TESTING

Members of the Kanawha County Commission voted to support the county
school board's drug testing policy even though the decision might land
them in court.

County Commissioners Kent Carper, Dave Hardy and Hoppy Shores also
voted to investigate expanding their own drug testing policy to
include more county employees.

The action came at a regular meeting of the County Commission on
Thursday.

Members of the American Federation of Teachers have challenged the
school board's widespread drug testing policy in court. County
officials decided to back the school board because they fear, if the
school board's policy is found unconstitutional, it will radically
affect the county's policy, as well.

"We have almost the identical policy right now at Metro 911," said
Carper. "We test everybody."

Governing bodies all over the country have started adopting random
drug testing for employees in "safety sensitive" positions. The
controversy comes in defining what "safety sensitive" means.

County officials have extended the term to employees like sheriff's
deputies, who carry guns, or to employees who have to drive, operate
equipment or are in jobs dangerous to themselves or to the public.
School officials believe the definition applies to teachers in the
classroom.

"When we say a child in a room alone with a teacher isn't safety
sensitive, it doesn't make sense," said school board member Pete Thaw,
who attended Thursday's meeting.

School board member Bill Raglin said separate but equal education
systems for white and black students were considered constitutional
during much of the last century. He believes drug testing will become
as accepted as integrated classrooms. He also said the majority of the
public believes in school employee drug testing.

Seth DiStefano of the American Civil Liberties Union urged county
officials not to back such wide-sweeping drug tests. He also urged
them not to rush to judgment on expanding the county's existing drug
policy. Carper wants to test more county employees, including those
who handle large sums of money or are in charge of sensitive information.

County officials know that publicly supporting the school board might
bring legal challenges against their own policies. "I did it on
purpose," Carper said.

Hardy also welcomes the attention. He said courts need to define what
"safety sensitive" means, and any legal action against the school
board might be the vehicle to do it.

"We need guidance," Hardy said. "We really do."

Also Thursday, commissioners began the drawn-out process of planning
the 2009-2010 county government. County officials are getting ready
to approve a $10 million bond sale to renovate the old American
Electric Power building next to the county courthouse, and need to
come up with about $1 million a year to make the bond payments.

While Carper and Hardy quibbled back and forth over what "real"
budget cuts were and wielded dueling financial charts, both
eventually ended up with the same idea to find the money by a
combination of not funding projects in this year's budget next year,
cutting back on other line items and eliminating some funding
altogether. Commissioners also discussed the possibility of a
one-year moratorium on raises.

The budget must be ready to send to state officials in March.