BRUNSWICK FINDS FEW SCHOOL EMPLOYEES FAIL DRUG TESTS

It's been a year and a half since random drug tests began at Brunswick
County Schools, and officials are proud to report few employees have
flunked them. "We feel it may be a deterrent" to drug use, said Terry
Chestnutt, head of human resources.

People are told of their random selection at the school or office
where they work and asked to give a urine sample on site, Chestnutt
said. A positive result doesn't necessarily lead to someone being
fired or suspended, unless it's a bus driver or another transportation
worker, he said. Three employees out of about 200 have tested
positive, Chestnutt said. None lost their jobs, Superintendent Katie
McGee said.

"I haven't had to get involved with an issue," said McGee, who has the
power to suspend employees and recommend their dismissal to the school
board. Chestnutt refused to reveal the employees' positions or the
consequences they faced, citing personnel confidentiality laws.

Those caught with illegal drugs on the job will face termination. But
when only traces are found in employees' systems, the schools may put
them on leave in lieu of suspension or dismissal and turn them over to
the Employee Assistance Program, which can provide a doctor or
counselor, Chestnutt and McGee said. It depends on whether the school
district feels they can be rehabilitated, Chestnutt added.

Ten percent of the schools' 2,000 or so employees and volunteers are
selected a year for the random screenings, which began at the same
time as pre-employment drug testing in July 2007. Whiteville-based
Southeastern Drug Testing screens for evidence of marijuana, cocaine,
opiates, amphetamines, phencyclidine, barbiturates, benzodiazepine and
alcohol. In some cases, "a person can test positive, then bring in
what's needed to prove they've been prescribed that drug," McGee said.
The school system is paying the company $34,309 to conduct both the
random testing and pre-employment drug screenings this fiscal year,
money Chestnutt considers well-spent.

"We wanted to ensure the safety and well-being of our children and
employees," Chestnutt said.

McGee said so few employees have tested positive for drugs that if she
could choose between randomly testing employees and students, she'd
choose students. "I know substance abuse by kids is a problem
throughout North Carolina," she said.

Because of legal considerations, there are no plans to test students,
but police dogs often search middle and high schools for drugs, she
said.