School board approves contract
After much debate, the Marion-Florence USD 408 Board of Education approved a contract Tuesday with The Consortium, the third party administrator that will conduct random drug testing for students involved in extra-curricular testing. The action occurred during a special meeting.
The contract was approved 5-1 with board member Doug Sharp casting the no vote.
The agreement calls for The Consortium to conduct the testing at a cost of $63 per test.
"They'll credit us $20 for each test Mrs. Waner (school nurse) certifies," explained Gerald Henderson, superintendent of schools.
During discussion, Sharp had several questions regarding the contract. Among his concerns, Sharp asked if the testing would place more of a demand on Waner.
"Will we need to pay her more? Or what will she not be doing because she's doing this?" he questioned.
Henderson said Waner had indicated there would be no problem working it into her schedule.
Sharp also questioned The Consortium's liability should they make a mistake on a test.
"We're holding The Consortium harmless for cancellation. What about us holding them harmless for a poor decision?" Sharp questioned.
Henderson said he was confident in The Consortium's professionalism and reputation.
"They have safeguards on safeguards," Henderson said. "And they've never had a challenged test overturned."
Sharp indicated he was more concerned about whether a collector from the company might violate a student's rights. He also asked whether an attorney had reviewed the contract.
Board President Rex Savage and Henderson indicated it was a standard service agreement and felt it did not need board attorney review.
The cost to implement the program for the remainder of the school year will be somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. Approximately 60 to 65 students will be tested during that time period, which is basically one-quarter of the student pool, Henderson said.
With approximately 300 students participating in extra-curricular activities, 150 students in grades 7-12 will be tested each year.
In other matters, the board also clarified wording of the new substance abuse policy.
During last week's meeting, board member Gene Bowers questioned an omission from the old policy to the new policy regarding students "found to be in violation of a prohibited act either via an investigation by school personnel, or from information from an outside agency such as law enforcement," as well as those who test positive under provisions of the policy.
The board approved that revision in the policy unanimously.
Bowers also reviewed other areas of concern he had with the policy. However, no changes were made.
