MOST EDUCATORS NOT DRUG TESTED

You know the bus driver who shuttles your child to school doesn't take drugs.

But you can't say the same about your child's teacher.

Even though pre-employment drug and alcohol testing has become a standard
in the business world, local teachers and Midwestern State University
professors are routinely hired without it.

It's not a big enough issue to justify the cost, say education officials in
both camps.

But Wichita Falls City Manager Jim Berzina begs to differ. The
pre-employment tests and the random testing of those already hired by the
city is, unfortunately, necessary, he said.

"Particularly when we bring in large groups, like for the police and fire
academies, we have lost a lot of potential employees at the drug site. When
we do the random tests, every now and then we find someone who doesn't pass."

None of the 130 teachers hired this summer to help teach the district's
15,000 children in grades K-12 was given the drug and alcohol screening
that is performed routinely on city and even Wichita County employees,
according to WFISD Director of Legal Services David Gossom. Instead, new
hires pass a criminal background check.

Gossom cited one exception: The district tests any driver of a school
vehicle. But that number is small, since school bus drivers are employees
of Southwest Student Transportation and not the school district. As
Southwest Student Transportation employees, bus drivers receive
pre-employment testing and undergo random testing - the routine that is
becoming common among businesses.

At MSU, new hires pass a reference check. Criminal background checks are
authorized only for sensitive positions, according to Board of Regents
Chairman Mac Cannedy, Jr.

No one in the schools or at MSU undergoes random drug testing, according to
personnel officials.

Cost is one reason, said WFISD's Gossom. The caliber of employees is
another, he said.

"We have to assume somewhere that they're of good character and that
they're adults. If they've made it through college and the hiring process
in general and have had good references, we feel they have enough judgment
to know it's probably not a good idea (to take drugs or abuse alcohol)," he
said.

Most WFISD employees don't operate machinery or drive district vehicles,
eliminating two obvious reasons to test for drugs, Gossom said.

In the past, WFISD school board members have debated the issue of random
drug tests for its athletes, but never for its teachers. The idea of
testing athletes was dropped because of cost and the enormity of the task
of administering tests in a truly random manner.

WFISD Director of Athletics Ronnie Faulkner said he wouldn't mind seeing
either group tested. "If we're going to take a stand, we need to be able to
stand up on either side of it," he said.

WFISD school board president Ken Hines pointed to the district's routine
criminal background check as something that provides adequate hiring
information about prospective teachers. "It probably catches a few people,"
he said. "If we could do a drug test, say $5 for employee applicants, it
might be that we would do something more. I think the cost is a whole lot
more than that."

Since the district isn't aware of any problems with drug or alcohol abuse
among its staff, the issue has never been raised, Hines said. "If we had a
perception that we had a problem, we would at least look hard at it."

The state regulatory agency for schools, the Texas Education Agency, wants
districts to have exactly that freedom, said TEA general counsel David
Anderson. Local districts may decide such hiring details for themselves,
and no state statue requires the drug test safeguard.

"Generally the state sets academic standards, funds the schools, sets the
textbooks. The state does not get into who should be hired beyond
certification requirements," Anderson said.

TEA spokesperson DeEtta Culbertson said if a potential teacher had been
convicted of a DWI (driving while intoxicated), a school district would
find out about it through the criminal history check.

The metropolitan Dallas ISD also chooses not to drug test, according to
Dallas ISD spokesperson Donny Claxton. That doesn't mean there have never
been problems, he said. "There have been incidents in the past where
teachers have been arrested for involvement. But it's not an everyday
reoccurring event."

Instead, Dallas ISD runs criminal background checks on all teachers
annually and expects principals to notice any signs of drug abuse while
visiting teachers' rooms.

City View school district also skips the drug test because no one's seen
the need for it, said principal Steve Harris. "Around here, the folks you
get? Pretty good people," he said. "Problems of that sort would be pretty
obvious during the hiring interview."

MSU personnel rely on the reference check as the safeguard when screening
potential professors and university personnel. "No process, even if we were
testing, would be perfect," said Cannedy. "We feel like we haven't had a
problem. If someone develops a problem while they're employed, we do take
steps to deal with it."

County employees undergo a more rigorous application process.
Pre-employment drug and alcohol screening is part of the hiring routine and
so is a physical, said Caroline Aguilar in the county's human resources
department. Depending on the job the prospect seeks, he may also have to
pass a strength test, she said.

Random drug testing is also standard procedure among heavy equipment
workers, but not among the courthouse's clerical staff, said Judy Reinke,
county auditor assistant.

Wichita County pays $19,583.37 per month for all testing provided through
its contract with Grace Medical. That covers testing of all jail inmates.
"The city of Wichita Falls will do the random testing of employees for us
at $31 each," Reinke said.

The pre-employment drug tests are a given at some local businesses,
including Coca-Cola Bottling. "No. 1 (reason we do it) is for safety," said
Coca-Cola Human Resources Manager Algeria Brown, who hires from the Fort
Worth office. "We operate the big rigs, fork lifts, we have merchandisers
that move product out into the market and put it on the shelves. And it's
our philosophy that we will have a drug-free workplace."

Keeping the schools in step with business on this issue isn't crucial to
Russell Bryant, Texas State Teachers Association regional president and a
Ben Milam basic skills teacher. He's against the costly practice that could
trigger false readings, he said. "A person who consistently uses drugs will
begin to show signs in work performance, reliability, mood changes and
other indicators that should raise a red flag to administration. From that
point, action could be taken."

Shelby Patrick, president-elect for the Wichita Falls Classroom Teachers
Association and a Hirschi High School chemistry teacher, said such tests
would jettison teacher morale. "Random drug testing would be a slap in the
face to the trust bestowed on teachers," he said in an e-mail Friday. "The
school building is already, by far, the safest place (children) can go.
Why? It's because of the love and care that our teachers, administrators
and all other workers provide every day."

Patrick administered to a United States Air Force drug-testing program from
its conception in 1971 until his retirement and said the process is
complex. "To the random observer, one may see it as a black/white or a
yes/no issue where easy answers can be obtained with minimal effort. It is
not. You better think before you leap."

Berzina said the city's testing, while required by the federal government
in some areas, is still prudent for all his hiring candidates. "Most of the
reason is, we want to make sure that we hire the best people we can for the
work. Drug free is one of the best things possible."